Beast Wars
by Copper Clouds
Summary: Sent from the village into the safety of obscurity, Naruto is raised with vastly different ideas of how life should be. But when his happy existence undercover falls apart, he'll stop at nothing to eliminate the threat that stole him from the world he prefers over the one he is being shunted toward. Meanwhile, Itachi struggles for balance between peace and pride, for Leaf's future.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to my new story. I am not finished writing this one yet; I have about seven chapters finished. I began writing this during NaNoWriMo 2011 and have been working on it alongside _KW_ for quite a while now. I felt it was time to let the first chapter be exposed.

**As always, I only own my Original Characters (who are only prevalent at the beginning, if you're worried) and the chain of events. Everything else is of course the property of _Naruto_'s writer and publishers.**

**This is rated for violence and mentions of prostitution and drug use.**

This story addresses what I consider a plot hole canon: how Sarutobi would allow Naruto to grow up so mistreated in a village without any training in being a jinchuuriki when he understood that Minato had left Naruto as insurance. The blind optimism that apparently fueled Sarutobi's decision to leave the immense power of the Kyuubi in Naruto's downtrodden hands when Naruto could have easily come to hate the village sparked this alternative in me.

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen stopped pressing against the invisible barrier only because it ceased to exist. He stumbled forward a few steps, his knees aching.

He was too old for this bullshit.

The baby was screaming, wailing for the milk and comfort his cooling mother was no longer in a position to give. Hiruzen's subordinates immediately went to their fallen Yondaime's side, though some turned to his wife. Hiruzen alone went to the baby lying in the middle of the smoking candles.

Golden fuzz hinted that the child followed more closely in his father's footsteps than his mother's. The whisker marks pointed to the child having shared his mother's body with the beast now sharing his. An unfortunate tell.

Hiruzen scooped the child up and signalled that his shadows attend him. Two flitted away from the Yondaime's bloody corpse to stand just behind him.

"Gather what personnel you can and search neighbouring villages and beyond, but not Konoha, for a woman capable of breastfeeding this boy alongside her own child if necessary. Preference will be given to a mother without a child to compete with him. Find a bottle of breast-milk for him in the meantime, even if you have to plunder Kushina's corpse. He needs sustenance if he's going to live. Present a list to me within three days. We do not have much time to settle him before the chaos clears enough that people begin asking questions. Minato-sama sacrificed his son. It is our job to see that my successor's gamble pays off."

The shadows disappeared.

The baby continued to howl.

Sighing, Hiruzen began the trek back to the office he had given up to the promising young man who would begin to rot soon.

* * *

Jiraiya was in Lightning when the message caught up with him.

The toad shuffled uncomfortably as the legendary ninja, once part of a trio of legendary ninjas, buried his face in his palms and started crying.

* * *

The Sandaime concluded several things when ANBU agents finished reporting what little they had managed to gather from the place he had sent Uzumaki Kushina to give birth.

The first rattled him. His wife was dead.

The urge to shake and rage like a much younger man blazed through him, but time had given him external calm many found frightening. This calm just left him sick and exhausted and alone. How was he going to tell his sons?

The world was not kind to shaken fathers, because there were further details to ponder.

The guards that should have prevented Biwako's murderer's entry were dead as well, having been found after their corpses bobbed to the surface of the river further downstream. The med-nin that had been assigned to assist Biwako was also dead.

That meant there were no witnesses.

Hiruzen was not alive at his ripe old age by being unsuspicious and naive. If there were no witnesses, it was likely that was intentional.

This implied that Kyuubi had not broken out on his own since all these murdered witnesses were in no way singed or showed any other signs that implied the Kyuubi had been behind their death. That implied a third party since Sarutobi would not even pause to consider the possibility Kushina or Minato had murdered their attendants. Inuzuka ANBU had verified a foreign scent's presence in the cave.

This third party had apparently been involved in events that had broken Kyuubi free of Kushina and left little Naruto an orphan. Minato had willingly put the Kyuubi in his son after bearing loving witness to the suffering it had inflicted on the wife he adored instead of allowing his dying wife to take the Kyuubi with her.

Hiruzen was certain that this third party was a major threat and probably the lynchpin behind all this death. He was also cautiously assuming that Minato had left Naruto Kyuubi as insurance.

Dangerous insurance.

The boy would need guarding before being able to cash in on his father's parting gift.

In the end, Hiruzen had the uneasy feeling that his concern over the stress on the seal from childbirth had played right into the third party's hands.

But this implied that the third party had known about Kyuubi in Kushina, had known about the seal's weakness, and had somehow seen use in something as wild as Kyuubi.

That cave had been a long way from Konoha. And no one had seen or sensed the beast approaching until it had been on the wrong side of Konoha's wall.

It was as if the Yondaime had teleported it there or it had been _summoned_ there, since the former was as likely as the moon being made of cheese and Hiruzen being able to convince his unruly younger son that smoking cigarettes was not something you should start doing in order to show your pipe-smoking father how behind the times he was. Hiruzen rubbed his eyes. The list of people that could control the Kyuubi and summon it so stealthily from _inside_ Konoha without alerting the barrier team to a foreign presence was very short, so short indeed that it should be nonexistent.

Naruto started snivelling, stirring in the basket Hiruzen had dug out of his attic. The Hokage made a beckoning motion, and a snake-masked agent appeared before him and passed him a bottle of milk.

"And what if he's unhappy about his diaper instead? Will you assist me with that as well?"

With a snort, the agent disappeared.

Hiruzen chuckled.

The disturbing thought that if Uchiha Madara was still somehow alive despite all expectations, how he had figured out that Kushina was the new vessel and when and where she would be at her weakest nagged at him.

A traitor in their midst wasn't an implication Hiruzen was comfortable with.

* * *

Rat–12 stumbled back into Konoha around midnight, passing over the wall gracelessly. Despite the hour, he headed straight for the Hokage Monument and climbed the cliff to stand in front of ANBU headquarters. The two Boar agents standing guard at the door quizzed him briefly before letting him pass. He faced the same ordeal twice more as he made his way deeper into the warren that ANBU maintained.

Dragon–1 looked up from his paperwork when Rat finally knelt before him. "So?"

Rat raised his head to attempt to read his faceless leader. "I've found a prostitute who might suit. Her child…"

"Aborted?"

Rat shrugged. "But very late. She claims miscarriage. Rumour has it that she was beaten late in her third trimester and that it killed the baby. In any case, she's desperate for money, knows how to keep her mouth shut, and is miraculously clean of disease for the most part, though I suspect warts or herpes. She's new to her trade, though she's been exposed to it for a long time. Money would motivate her to be mobile. She's lactating, so she should suit."

Dragon–1 nodded. "Her name and location, for the list."

"Mae, no clan name apparently, from Tanzaku Gai's pleasure district." He shuffled, torn between curiosity and weariness. "How long is the list?"

"Ten so far. Quite a few have yet to report in. All of them have one flaw or another. Go get some rest."

* * *

Hiruzen inspected the list. Forty names with their locations and their circumstances graced the paper. Some women had other children. Others were bound to a husband, which would make things complicated. One more person to hold the secret, to weaken the security of the secret. No, a husband was not acceptable. Neither were other children, as they were just as likely to blab, if less likely to need to be told the whole story.

That shortened the list to three candidates. One widow woman had lost her child to health problems her village physician had been unable to handle. A woman deep in grief would benefit from Naruto's happy manners, but she had family who would ask questions. Yet another impossibility. The second was a prostitute. Not a particularly happy placing for Naruto, since the agent had marked the woman as crass and ill tempered, but she was alone in the world.

The last woman lived with her brother.

Hiruzen glanced at Naruto, who was drooling in his sleep. "My poor boy, it looks like the whore is your best choice. You and I will have to be quiet about this though. My teammates and Danzou want me to keep you here, where you'll be protected and forever watched. We cannot chance it though, little man. Who is to say that you being here, in the midst of anger and grief, would be better for you? No, best you escape with a guard strong in the way of disguise and secrecy. Someone who can help you escape the fastest is best because fighting Uchiha Madara is not an option if he really did survive his battle with Shodaime-sama."

Naruto snoozed on, oblivious.

Hiruzen cocked a finger, and a Ram agent appeared before him. "Bring Dragon–1 to me. Tell him to bring along the roster of spies and scouts."

* * *

Dragon–1 spread the lists out before his newly reinstated Hokage, but the old man focused on him instead.

"Who's the best at hiding?"

"Conventional hiding?" asked Dragon.

"Hiding and blending in, maintaining cover."

Dragon pointed at Rat–12, 67, 173, Snake–5, 17, Monkey–12, and 25.

"Which of those is the best at escaping?"

Dragon eliminated Rat–173 and Snake–17.

"Who is the best at extending these skills to another person?"

Dragon eliminated Rat–12, Snake–5, and Monkey–25.

"Which of those that remain is the most loyal, the best, the most fit to be a guardian to two for years?"

Dragon hesitated. He pointed at Rat–67 at last. "He's unattached, so his absence from Konoha won't be as big a deal as it would for the others. He's respectable but has no experience as a guardian save for the occasional guarding mission and his 'mother hen' role in any team. Is this for…?" He glanced at Naruto.

The Sandaime nodded, having been able to see the motion through the eye slits in Dragon's mask.

"Then I would suggest one other."

"Who?"

"The boy who possesses the lost element."

The Sandaime frowned for a moment before he worked it out and grinned. "A wise idea, however little I like the idea of sending him out there."

"The village is not the ideal environment for him in his orphaned and experimental state, given how we keep him in ANBU. Playing older brother would help him adjust, maybe."

Sarutobi-sama nodded. "I'll check in with his therapist. Otherwise, bring Rat–67 before me and make sure that Inoichi is on standby. I can't take any risks. Someone knew about Kushina. We must ensure that secrecy will be absolute until the boy is strong enough that delivering him to his godfather will not be a hasty move."

Dragon gathered up his scrolls and saluted. "I'll ensure that the Uchiha know nothing of the move."

"The Uchiha?" Sarutobi-sama was frowning.

"Whispers have been going around that many of the Uchiha adults were missing the night of the attack. Also, one of my agents noted that Uchiha Mikoto was the only person Uzumaki Kushina-sama spoke to before leaving the village with Biwako-sama. The Kyuubi has long been a symbol of their strength."

The Hokage looked troubled when he dismissed Dragon–1 without another word.

* * *

_The Uchiha are suspect?_ Hiruzen couldn't say he was surprised; the Uchiha did flaunt their association with fire. However, Uchiha Madara had split from the Uchiha that remained in Konoha, spiting their refusal to help him rebel. His hatred for them was probably only second to his hatred for the Shodaime. Would he have set aside that hatred for the chance to reclaim the Kyuubi? The scent had been foreign though. He would have to make sure the Inuzuka ANBU went through the Uchiha area. Scents could be masked, but at least this would give a bit more certainty.

All this speculation of course begged the question of what on earth Madara wanted with Kyuubi. The obvious answer was the destruction of Konoha. It was likely, but Hiruzen felt that for all the symbolism of stealing back a lost weapon and unleashing it on the very place that had laid claim to it, it didn't seem to be enough. Uchiha Madara had been powerful enough to carve a valley when he had clashed with Shodaime-sama. He was capable of levelling Konoha without Kyuubi.

"Little man, did the man who interrupted your birth say anything to you about why he had gone to all this trouble?"

Naruto only whimpered for a diaper change.

* * *

Takashi rolled his shoulder nervously as he peered out from behind his rat mask at the sparse details the mission scroll provided him.

_Duration: five to ten years_

_Breaks: none permitted_

_Location: Fire (absolute location yet to be decided)_

_Essential Skills: child rearing, undercover operation techniques, further skills to be disclosed later_

_Team Size: four_

_Client: Yondaime and Sandaime Hokage_

It was strange that the Yondaime claimed to be requesting this mission when he had died four days ago and the mission had been logged as of that morning. Takashi supposed that meant it was being done according to the Yondaime's will or it aided his former purposes. The Sandaime and the Council were the only ones with enough authority to legally tack his name onto this mission, not that anyone but the Council, ANBU, and the Hokage would ever see the details of this top secret mission.

"Well?" said Dragon–1.

"Sir, this is very secret?"

"Very. You are not allowed to discuss this mission with anyone other than me and the Sandaime Hokage."

The Council was not allowed to be involved. That made Takashi nervous because that meant that if the Sandaime also died, this mission would have no one heading it and the only one aware of its existence would be the team and Dragon–1. "Is it very important to the wellbeing of the village?"

Dragon–1 paused. "I am betting so, though I think it will take many years for the true extent of the mission's importance to become obvious. Sandaime-sama better understands the particulars. I need to mention that if you accept this mission, you will be undergoing a deep scan by the Interrogation Commander."

So it was _very_ important. And _very_ secret.

Takashi gulped silently. "May I have a day to consider it?"

"Six hours," Dragon–1 said grudgingly. "There isn't much time. Delay only makes things worse."

So it was time sensitive too. Rat–67 handed the mission scroll back, accepted the silencing seal Dragon–1 painted on the back of his hand, and slipped out of the room.

As he wandered out of the warren of ANBU headquarters and along the top of the Hokage Monument, Takashi considered his options as he carefully kept his silence seal intact: any disturbance of the lines would lead to interrogation. This was obviously a mission he was not allowed to talk about at all. That meant that if he did refuse the mission, he would be seeing a Yamanaka to edit out his knowledge of it.

Scary stuff.

Did he want to throw aside his life in Konoha, such as it was, for the next five to ten years? He wasn't unused to long missions, but the longest he had been out of the village at a stretch had been two years on an undercover mission in Lightning. When he had gotten back, it had taken months to reconnect with his friends, never mind his former teammates. It would be at least twice as bad when he returned if he accepted this mission.

No doubt, his crush, Hyuuga Sora, would be bound in marriage with children by then, not that she reciprocated at all.

ANBU agents didn't have personal lives, for the most part. He'd heard Snake–28 telling the Hatake kid that once in the mess hall shortly after the kid had claimed a dog mask. The fact that Snake–28 was a conniving old bitch didn't make her words any less true.

Sighing, Takashi headed back inside, only eighteen minutes of his six hours used up. The rest of his time could be spent figuring out what to do with his worldly belongings and his apartment. ANBU would handle his landlord, either by paying off his rent until his contract ran out by subletting his place or by terminating his lease early. His stuff could go into storage or be sold off. Takashi was leaning towards the latter since the chances he would come back with the same tastes were slim.

He'd learned after his last mission that returning to his reclaimed and refurnished apartment hadn't been the same as coming home. All his trappings had felt odd, as though they belonged in a museum. It had been a disconcerting experience.

He had every intention of avoiding it this time by selling everything except his photo albums.

* * *

Takashi swayed slightly in his chair as Yamanaka Inoichi shut the door behind himself.

Sandaime-sama was watching him with a pitying and proud expression. "Thank you for enduring that. I suspect a spy, so I had to be sure."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi-sama clapped his hands, and a genjutsu dissolved, revealing that a collection of three cushions carefully stacked in the far corner of the office was instead a basket. The old Hokage shuffled across the room to collect the wicker contraption, revealing that a baby with blond fuzz lay nestled amidst the blankets it contained.

Rat–67 suddenly understood why Yondaime-sama was considered in on this mission. "Permission to speak freely?"

"Granted, Takashi-kun."

He relaxed slightly. "What are the whisker marks from?"

"It was not widely known, but Uzumaki Kushina-sama was Senju Mito's successor. Both women had the Kyuubi sealed inside them, making them what are commonly called jinchuuriki. Children carried in jinchuuriki seem to inevitably carry some mark of their unusual confinement. Mito-sama's child bore similar marks. Kyuubi escaped from Kushina-sama somehow during her delivery of Naruto, which happened outside of the village because giving birth weakened the seal used on Kyuubi. Unfortunately, the events you know of came to pass, and the Yondaime and his wife are no longer with us. I witnessed them sealing Kyuubi into their son, Uzumaki Naruto."

Takashi glanced at the boy as the Sandaime pulled aside the blanket to reveal the babe's belly. The Hokage somehow pushed chakra through the boy's system, revealing a dark seal around the bellybutton, which still had some dried umbilical cord attached to it.

"Someone brought Kyuubi into Konoha. Someone murdered everyone at the birth except for Kushina-sama, Minato-sama, and Naruto-kun here, our sole true survivor. That someone found out about the secret birth despite all our efforts and security. We must get Naruto-kun out of Konoha and safely hidden.

"You were selected because this mission is not about fighting; it is about hiding this boy and ensuring he grows up well enough. You will lead this mission and do whatever it takes to make it succeed."

"What happens to the boy when the mission ends?"

"He will go to his godfather, Jiraiya. I would send him to him now, but it is likely that Jiraiya will be watched, given the close ties between him and Minato-sama. Putting them together at this point isn't wise."

"So you don't want him to enter the Academy?"

"At the moment, no. Our security has been severely breached. I cannot see Konoha as a safe place any longer, not for the bearer of the Kyuubi. Yes, the attacker waited until Kushina-sama was outside our walls, but I do not know if that was because that was where she was giving birth or if our defences were what warned him off. I suspect the former given how Kyuubi was likely summoned into the village. Naruto-kun, being a man, will never suffer the weakness of childbirth, so his seal will remain strong. It is in the assailant's best interest to kill him as soon as possible and wait for Kyuubi to escape death. That or drive Naruto into losing himself to Kyuubi."

"So," said Takashi carefully, struggling to keep up, "for the first few years, I should expect assassination, while later on I should expect someone to brainwash Naruto-kun into voiding the seal somehow?"

"Or giving in to rage. Mito-sama and Kushina-sama noted that darker emotions tended to weaken them to Kyuubi's influence." The Sandaime settled the blanket back over Naruto when the babe protested the cold. "Now, the team. You will have another agent with you. Tenzou-kun is young enough that he will be able to act as an elder brother to the boy. Better still, Tenzou-kun carries the same genetic skills that Shodaime-sama did in almost all respects, save that his strength with these gifts doesn't compare."

"So you hope he'll be able to exert some control over Kyuubi if Naruto does start losing himself."

"Exactly, Takashi-kun. You are quick to catch on. Good. Now, your other teammate is less reliable than Tenzou-kun, unfortunately, but she is absolutely necessary, at least for a few months."

"A few months… A milk mother."

"Exactly. Mae-san is a … courtesan from Tanzaku Gai. She has lost her own child, but she still is producing milk, so she will be able to wean Naruto-kun. Her loyalty is unfortunately only through money, so you will have to be wary of her. Also, what to do with her after her usefulness is ended is up to you. I ask that you contact Konoha for assistance in this matter only if you deem it absolutely necessary."

In other words, he could terminate her in order to ensure secrecy if he felt bothering with a memory block would be too troublesome. "Have you chosen the location for the mission? Have you selected a cover?"

The Sandaime shook his head. "I've deliberately left that up to you. I would rather that there is no way Konoha can provide leads to where you are. You will be provided with relay seals, so you can communicate directly with Dragon–1 or myself if necessary, but I ask that you use them only in the direst circumstances except for the occasional 'all is well'. You are running this show. Do whatever you must to keep this child safe and raise him to be resourceful as best you can, Takashi-kun. Also, do the same for Tenzou-kun. His upbringing has been very dark. I've assigned him to you in the hope that leaving Konoha will bring some light into his life."

* * *

The boy codenamed Tenzou glanced up from checking his kunai at a knock on his door. "Who is it?"

"Rat–67."

Tenzou struggled to remember which of the many Rat agents 67 was. He failed. "What is it?"

"Mission, Tiger–19. I need you to come with me to a briefing room."

He gathered his kunai back into his pouch, donned his mask, and slid open the door.

Rat–67 was average height, average colouring for a farmer from what little skin Tenzou could see, and of medium build. His mask was primarily inked with green, meaning he worked solo, but there was some of the expected black and red to show he worked as a team captain and a subordinate on occasion. He wore the standard uniform without the cloak. As a Rat agent, the man had to have leadership abilities, so it was odd that he worked primarily solo. It was more common for Monkeys and Snakes to be solo agents, being master spies and master assassins respectively. Other than these observations, Tenzou knew little of the man.

"Come. We're keeping Hokage-sama waiting."

Tenzou hurried now. He was more used to Minato-sama, but Sarutobi-sama was also kind to him, even if it was more of a guilty kindness than Minato-sama's was. He had heard that Orochimaru, the man who had altered him, had been Sarutobi-sama's student, which explained the guilt. Still, if that guilt included candied walnuts and meat buns, Tenzou was not going to complain.

When they slipped into Dragon–1's private briefing room, Sarutobi-sama activated the seals that warded against eavesdropping as a baby in a basket on the table started squirming and wailing. This mission must be very secret. Tenzou had never seen Sarutobi-sama use the seals in his office or in the ANBU briefing rooms before.

"Masks off," said Rat–67, reaching for his own.

"What?" Tenzou was astounded even as he began to obey.

"It is either 'pardon' or 'why', Tenzou-kun," Sarutobi-sama said. "'What' implies that you did not hear the order and is much ruder than 'pardon'."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

Rat–67 set his wooden mask on the table and settled in a chair adjacent to the Hokage. Tenzou set his Tiger mask on the table as well and settled in the last remaining chair.

"Tenzou-kun, for this mission, you are being assigned a codename, as is Rat–67. It will be a long mission, so I'm sure you will grow into it. You will both go unmasked. Rat–67 will be your squad leader, and he may change your codename at any point."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

Rat slouched in his chair, knitting his fingers together as he set his clasped hands on the table. "Seiichi will be your first name, Tiger–19. I will be Mamoru. The baby shall be called…" He glanced at Sarutobi-sama.

The old man sighed. "Yes, he'll have a different name too."

"I just worry because he's young enough that his codename will stick for him. He won't understand."

"I trust you and Seiichi-kun can explain things to him, Mamoru-kun. He shall be Yuji-kun. Mae-san will need a different name as well."

Rat shuffled slightly, betraying nerves. Seiichi wondered who this Mae-san was and why she was frightening for his team leader. "I will collaborate with her on it. She may not understand the reasoning."

"Very good, Mamoru-kun. Now, Seiichi-kun, the mission is to be a brother to Yuji-kun here. Mamoru-kun will be your father figure, and Mae-san will act as Yuji-kun's mother figure for a time. We're counting on you to teach Yuji-kun how to be a good boy and how to begin to become a good ninja. As a good boy, he must learn how to make friends with boys and girls, learn how to play with them properly, and learn how to respect his elders. As a good ninja, he must know how to be sneaky, be swift, and be strong. Mamoru-kun will help you teach him how to be a good ninja."

Seiichi itched to ask why, why all this, but ANBU was not supposed to know the why. Only the how. "Hai, Hokage-sama."

"This mission will last years, so you will have lots of time to get it right." Sarutobi-sama handed over a book. Seiichi took it, resisting the urge to flip through its pages. "This is for you and you alone, unless Mamoru-kun absolutely needs to use it. You must never let Mae-san touch it or know it exists."

"What about Yuji-kun?" asked Rat, glancing at the baby.

"That will be for Seiichi-kun to decide. You may open the book."

Seiichi forced himself to go slowly, inspecting the cover, noting the subtle lines inscribed in the painted canvas cover. "A seal?"

"Yes."

Seiichi now opened the cover and investigated one blank page after another. "A journal?"

"As a cover. I would recommend using it as one to increase your cover as well. Every once in a while, write an entry about your day, in character. Now, repeat after me. Dear Fire, I've been thinking."

"Dear Fire, I've been thinking…?"

Hokage-sama handed him a pencil. "Write it in kanji."

Seiichi carefully scrawled down the kanji, struggling to remember the correct characters.

"No, Seiichi-kun, that one needs to be something different."

Seiichi quickly scratched out the character.

The Hokage shook his head. "No, you'll have to start again. Erase your previous attempt entirely. The words are a sequence that the seal recognizes. They must be written correctly without interruption, or the seal will not activate."

Seiichi made liberal use of his eraser as Mamoru-san and Sarutobi-sama corrected his stroke order. When he finally got the phrase correctly down, the characters were wiped from the page, leaving only the pressure indentations. Sarutobi-sama pulled out a matching book. "Keep writing, Seiichi-kun. Say anything you like."

_I would like to thank Sarutobi-sama for trusting me with this mission. I don't understand why Yuji-kun needs to be hidden._ The words faded from the page, the same way the opening phrase had, though a little slower.

"Are you done?"

Seiichi nodded.

"Now write 'That is a weight off my mind' in katakana. That is the end sequence for the seal."

This time, Seiichi had no trouble. Katakana were easier.

"Now write something simple anywhere on the page, even over where you were writing before."

_Tigers are good fighters._ The words stayed on the page. "Where did my other words go?"

Sarutobi opened his book and showed him the empty pages. He took out a pencil and scribbled three fire characters on the top of his page. Seiichi's words appeared on the first empty line, exactly as he had written them. "For you, the code for getting my messages is a little more complicated. At the top of a page, write 'And what do you think?' in katakana and my reply should appear." Sarutobi-sama turned his book to face him and scrawled a short message. "Go on."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Seiichi watched the Hokage's writing's appear on his page, starting on the first empty line. _Yuji-kun is being hunted by bad people. We must keep him safe._

"Now wipe my words by writing 'That was helpful.' You must be careful when you are writing with a pen or a pencil. As you saw on your first page, the markings disappear, but the pressure marks are still there. Someone very clever could figure out your messages. If you can, try to use a brush and light pressure. That way, there will be no trace."

"Why give this to me, Hokage-sama?"

The old man smiled sadly. "You have been made into the Shodaime's image, but you have only begun to learn how to touch those gifts, never mind how to harness them. I do not have time to teach you now that you must go with Yuji-kun and Mamoru-kun. So, we will use this method to keep in touch. I will give you lessons through the journal. You will write any questions or concerns to me in there as well using the seal to send them to me and wipe them so no one else will be able to see them. This is a very complicated bit of seal work, so you must guard it carefully. It is valuable. Other ninja would find this very useful. We only let our agents use this in very special cases."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Seiichi whispered.

"You're welcome, Seiichi-kun. Now, you can only read my reply once, so be sure to memorize it before you wipe it. Never forget to wipe my reply before you set your diary aside."

* * *

Mae languidly licked beads of perspiration off the side of her straw, letting her lashes brush just so against her cheek. She heard someone's breath catch to her left along the counter and let a slow smile curl the corners of her mouth as she put the straw back in her soda and drew the tip between her lips. Sweetness, fizz, and artificial flavour blasted her tongue, but she was more focused on the breathing rate of the person watching her.

Her target had been to her right, a youngish man out with his date. She would have passed her self-set test if she had managed to drag his eyes from his date to her. She had failed. Instead, Mae had drawn the attention of the woman sitting three seats to her left.

Oh well. That was fine.

Her breasts _ached_, and she couldn't keep a shirt clean and dry nowadays. Miscarrying was a pain in the ass. She hadn't had a sane client ever since she had failed to terminate her mistake in the first few weeks. She had stopped trying after that. She'd done some research. She didn't want to kill something with a head, with eyes. No, at that point, she'd been resigned to stretch marks and being stretched out down where being tight was a necessity. Her dreams of silk kimonos and tea ceremonies had died painfully.

She had resigned herself to fucking sickos who had a thing for pregnant women and milk-heavy breasts.

Then the worst sicko had decided to beat the baby out of shape while it was still in her. With his feet.

She fought the grimace off her face and sighed instead. Grimaces were never sexy. Sighs, deep and mournful or light and wistful, could be a hook.

The woman watching her cleared her throat and called for the bill.

Mae traced a corkscrew curl she had somehow threatened and tortured out of its genetically programmed ridiculously tight coils into something halfway passable.

The woman dropped an overly generous tip and fled.

Mae chuckled quietly. Obviously, someone was not comfortable with being anything but het.

Her mirth was cut short when the bust of her dress pressed against her carefully placed arm felt very damp.

_Goddammit._

The shop's bell clanged as someone pulled the door open. Strange, she couldn't hear his footsteps. "Mae-san?"

She jumped at how close behind her his voice was, spinning to stare at him, her carefully crafted pose ruined. The man's badly chopped hair and patchy beard caught her attention before she found his dark eyes. The contempt in them told her that he wasn't here for her cunt. His contempt, his silence, his bad haircut, and the scars she could see on his exposed skin led her to one conclusion.

"Mamoru-san?"

With a weary groan and a teasing smile, he sat down next to her. If it wasn't for the lingering contempt hiding in his eyes, she would have thought he was an old friend she was supposed to be meeting. Maybe he could have been a former classmate from the school she had never attended regularly enough to remember its name or where her desk was. "You didn't get me anything?"

"I'm terribly sorry," she gushed, carefully positioning her arm to hide her wet bust again. He had noticed it in the penetrative glance he had met her with. If his contempt hadn't made her so angry, she would have been slightly embarrassed. "It's been a while. I wasn't sure you liked iced tea anymore, so I didn't dare jump the gun."

"Ginger ale is always a much safer bet. I've gotten over iced tea."

"Ha! You see? It's not like it takes long." Mae leaned forward and waved the proprietress over. "A ginger ale for my friend and a kettle corn parfait just for me."

Mamoru-san's face was a picture of disgust. "Popcorn and whipped cream?"

"Hush! I told you, the flavours jive."

The proprietress returned with their orders, and they set to absent chatter, carefully taking their cues from each other. Mae was a consummate actress by necessity—men (and women) needed to be convinced she was enjoying herself (against her will sometimes) since it made them come back for more ego stroking. It seemed Mamoru-san was no slouch either. They ended up moving to a booth where she could lean back against the too red vinyl seats and spoon the odd confection into her mouth while he sipped from his tumbler, elbows on the table.

He knocked the conversation off its lighthearted track after a lull. "If you could pick a name, any name, for yourself, what would it be? You can't pick Mae."

With a slight frown, she licked her spoon sensuously to see if he would twitch, but he was stone. "Hmm. A name for myself?" She dragged a finger along the inside of her parfait glass, scooping up chocolate and whipped cream traces. She sucked her finger clean slowly and very thoroughly until Mamoru-san snorted.

"You sure that's clean enough? Maybe there's some ghost of sticky residue still haunting your fingerprint."

She pouted at him. "Meanie! It tastes good. I don't want to waste any of it!"

"A name, greedy guts?"

She huffed. "Fine, Hiromi. That way my name would perfectly reflect my physical perfection."

He puffed a breathy laugh into his forearms before raising his head. "Very well then, no take-backs."

"Why would I?" she asked, smearing the last traces of her treat onto her finger, setting her glass aside, and dropping her spoon in with a chink as she cleaned her finger off for the last time.

"You'll see. Should we get going?"

If she understood this correctly, this was the point where she had to accept or reject the job offer. There was some baby they wanted her to feed. The amount of money they had offered her was staggering, more than enough to maybe restore her dreams of silken kimono and poetry. If she wanted to be stupid and say no, she would beg off.

Mae was not stupid, just bruised and burdened with aching, leaking breasts. "Sure."

* * *

Mamoru led the slut from the sweets shop through Tanzaku Gai's streets to the hotel he had left Seiichi and Yuji to lay low at. She took his hand, threaded her fingers through his, and swung their linked arms playfully every now and then as she chattered to fill their silence. He tried to keep up, tried to keep being absorbed in catching up with a classmate, but she was too much. Everything about her was sex. She was so focused on it, on projecting it, and on forcing everyone within a certain radius of her to make her the object of their sexual desires.

He wasn't interested, so her insistence kept bouncing off his wall, which only made her push harder.

He would need to lay out some ground rules and force her to settle down. He needed her focused on Yuji, not on plying her trade.

Besides, she would freak poor Seiichi-kun out.

"Hiromi."

She was forced to stop with him in the hotel lobby, her momentum and her grip on his hand spinning her to face him. She cocked her head questioningly.

"I need you to…" He sighed and raked his free hand through his hair.

"Mamoru?"

"Seiichi's not used to… you know. He's not even eleven. So can you…?"

"Tone it down?"

He allowed a relieved smile to curl his lips and soften the creases around his eyes. "Yeah."

She nodded and propped a hand on her hip. "Silly Mamoru! You're still a worrywart. I would never spoil his virgin ears and eyes. This is just for you."

He ignored her last words. "He's still torn up about…" His shoulders slumped. "I never thought she would…"

Hiromi-san paused for a long moment, obviously scrambling to catch up. "No, I never considered it either," she whispered, squeezing his hand. "It's okay. She's watching over you three. I'm sure of it."

The whore was good. Very good. Mamoru relaxed internally, glad his doubts about her ability to count and make the proper deductions had been blasted to smithereens. He nodded and glanced up at her through his bangs. "Yeah…"

She ducked down and peered up at him in order to better meet his gaze, a sad smile creasing her coffee skin. "Let's go, huh? We can't keep Seiichi-kun waiting."

With a decisive nod, he strode towards the stairs, not sparing the receptionist that had played audience to their performance a glance.


	2. Chapter 2

In case you've forgotten: Rat-67=Takashi=Mamoru, Tiger-19=Tenzou (Yamato)=Seiichi, Naruto=Yuji, Mae=Hiromi

* * *

Seiichi scowled at his brother as he crouched to make their eyes level, ignoring the breeze blowing his bangs into his eyes. "Open your mouth, you brat." He kept a firm grip on the boy's arm; he had already had to chase him down the gangplank and didn't want him running any further.

Yuji's big brown eyes gleamed with guile as he shook his head and shuffled his sandalled feet on the worn pier planks. Gulls shrieked despite the southern sea's attempt to shush them as the few fishing boats not out at sea for the day made their mooring lines creak as they rocked on the waves.

"Open your mouth. Spit it out."

Yuji smiled big, his lips sealed together.

"I'll tell Mom."

Yuji's smile faltered.

"And she'll tell Dad."

Pouting, Yuji tipped his head forward and spat the metal nut into Seiichi's palm. It was liberally covered in saliva, but that was probably a good thing since Seiichi didn't have any water with him to rinse his brother's mouth out. He wiped the nut off on his pants and headed back on board, Yuji at his heels, to pass it back to his friend Kin, who had been cleaning some equipment on the schooner when Yuji had struck.

"Your brother's gross."

Seiichi wiped his hand on his pants. "Yeah, he is."

"I am not!" Yuji whacked the back of Seiichi's thigh hard, but the might of a five-year-old was pitiful compared to what their dad could dish out during secret training.

"Sure you are, squirt," Kin, an apprentice fisherman and deckhand, insisted. "What kind of sophisticated, ungross person puts a rusty nut in their mouth?"

"It's the best hiding spot!"

Seiichi face-palmed as Kin arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"You're not leaving without me this time! I'm coming! I'll catch the biggest fish and gut it. But you can't leave without me. You can't leave without that piece."

Seiichi and Kin shared weary looks. "Sure, kid. But I've got it now, so you've got nothin'."

Yuji smiled that suspiciously closed-lipped smile again and made to dash off, but Seiichi snagged the back of his shirt before he had gotten two steps. It wouldn't do to be too fast in front of civilians.

Seiichi knelt again and cupped his palm back in front of Yuji's face. "Out with it, brat."

* * *

Mamoru put his other arm behind his back and began counting out his one-armed pushups anew.

"You're going to stink up the house with your sweat," Hiromi sniped from the kitchen.

"You've got the window over the sink open," he said with well-worn calm.

"And the breeze stinks of fish."

"Uh-huh." _Twenty-two. Twenty-three…_

"And I bet you don't even know where the boys are."

"Uh-huh." _Twenty-seven. Twenty-eight…_

"You didn't pick up any gin for me, did you?"

"Uh-huh." _Thirty-three. Thirty-four…_

"We're having sashimi again."

"Uh-huh." _Thirty-six…_

"Can we please have sex?"

He rolled his eyes. "Uh-uh."

Long association and careful observation made him certain she was doing the same. "What's the point of maintaining muscle definition if nobody gets to appreciate it? Wouldn't it feel nice to have someone smooth her fingers over the dips and planes—?"

"Hiromi."

"Wouldn't it feel good to have nails raking over your back?"

"Hiromi."

"I know it would be nice to watch the shadows play over the—"

"Goddammit, woman, you're making me lose count!"

She snorted. "I'll shut up if you let me cut your hair and shave that patchy excuse for overgrown stubble off."

"Done. Now be quiet. The boys will be home soon."

"Does turning on the radio count as being quiet?"

"You know it does. So long as you're not talking, you're quiet."

As always, she had the battered device tuned to a classical music station, one that favoured traditional instruments like the biwa (her favourite) over the violin and such that were becoming so popular for movie music.

The boys broke their peace. Yuji was hollering (as he often was) that he would prove himself in one way or another, and Seiichi was crunching up the gravel path in his wake. "We're back," Yuji announced as he kicked off his sandals and swooped in to hug Hiromi's leg.

She set aside her cleaver and wiped her hands on a rag before ruffling his genjutsu-brown hair with a smile as he grinned up at her. "Welcome back."

Seiichi, as always, tidied up Yuji's sandals before taking off his own and padding across the kitchen to stand before Mamoru.

The team leader shook his hair out of his eyes and glanced up at the fifteen-year-old. "So?"

"Nothing unusual. He put strange things in his mouth again."

"Niichan!"

"You did what?" said Hiromi, falling to her knees and prying Yuji's mouth open despite his inarticulate protests and the futile stink-eye he aimed at his brother. "Seiichi, get me a glass!"

With a sigh, the older boy obeyed Hiromi, swiping a cup from the cupboard and filling it with water before putting it into the woman's shaking hands.

"Take a mouthful, Yuji. Swish it around your mouth."

"Mom!"

"Take a mouthful!"

Groaning, the young boy glared at his brother before caving and spitting the water into the sink when prompted. The process was repeated until the boy was using warm salt water and wailing about how awful his mother was. Only then did she relent.

"You don't go sticking strange things in your mouth, Yuji! Who knows where they have been!"

"Yes, Mom."

"Go to your room," Mamoru rumbled, sitting cross-legged against the wall now that he had finished his last set.

"But, Dad!"

"Your room, Yuji. We have lots of secret work to do tonight. Take a nap."

Groaning, Yuji stumbled from the room and stomped up the stairs.

* * *

Yuji curled up on his futon. Stupid tattletale brother.

He really did want to go out with the fishermen this year and show them all. He really would catch a big fish. But Mom said no. Dad said absolutely not. Seiichi-niichan just shook his head.

They didn't understand though. Just because he was afraid of the big water of the sea, he had to go out onto it and show it that he was the boss. Something in him cringed with terror when the storms brought the big waves to beat the beaches and splinter the piers. Those big waves carried huge logs that they threw high up onto the shore, so high that Yuji had never seen seaweed or high tide touch those places.

Yuji needed to stand in the middle of those waves and snarl loudly and bare his teeth.

When he'd told his father this, Dad had smiled the twinkly eyed smile that meant he was laughing on the inside and had said, "Is that so?"

Dad was quiet most of the time and you had to look really hard to see his chuckles, his grins, and his full-bellied laughs when they weren't out in public or with his work friends. They were all in the creases around his eyes and the twinkle in them. Only Mom could make him bring the laughter into the air at home when they had no guests.

Yuji had always had the impression that Mom wasn't supposed to be there. He wasn't sure what it had come from other than a sketchy memory of Mom shouting at Dad while Yuji clung to her leg and refused to let her go, but every now and then he was reminded of it. It was the way Dad and Seiichi-niisan would nod behind Mom's back and talk more when the three of them were out in the woods doing secret training while Mom slept back at home. However, Yuji was glad Mom was still with them. She made the house warm even when she and Dad were fighting because she fought loudly while Dad fought with silence.

Seiichi-niichan would always keep him out of their way when they were in the middle of a hurricane argument. His brother was the best, even if he was a tattletale and was a daddy's boy. Niichan had assured him many times that Yuji was the momma's boy.

"Yuji."

Speak of the meanie. "G'way. I'm napping."

"If you're napping, you shouldn't be replying. I'm coming in."

Yuji scowled and crossed his arms as a greeting to his brother and the light the opening door brought in from the hallway. His frown faltered when he saw that Niichan had brought the magic talking diary.

"Shh!" Seiichi warned him, a finger pressed against his lips.

Yuji pressed his hands over his mouth until Niichan closed the door and settled beside him on the bed. Seiichi set the pot of ink carefully beside the futon, locking his eyes on Yuji, who nodded, silently promising not to knock the bottle over. Brother gave him the brush to hold while he flipped through the worn pages full of Niichan's entries. Yuji wasn't supposed to read those since there was stuff about the girls he had crushes on and about the bad stuff he and Kin had gotten up to when he wasn't with Yuji, which wasn't often. Niichan stuck to him like a burr unless Dad was with him.

"Did you write to the book genie?" Yuji whispered when Seiichi set the book down in front of him, two blank pages glowing in the dim light.

"I told him about how you're afraid of the ocean."

Yuji scowled again. "Why would you do that, butthead?"

"Because the genie's always interested in you. He likes to hear about these things. It lets him know that he should be afraid of the ocean too if he ever escapes the book. You're teaching him things."

Yuji grunted.

With a grin, Seiichi reclaimed the brush. "You promise you won't ever tell Mom or anyone else about the book? Ever?"

"I promise." Yuji always had to promise whenever Niichan brought the book out. It was their big secret. Yuji wasn't even sure Dad knew about the genie book, and Dad usually knew everything about Seiichi.

Niichan dipped the brush into the ink, brushed the excess off on the inside of the bottle's opening, and scrawled out the familiar phrase 'And what do you think?' on the top of the page.

Words appeared, lots of words. The characters were mostly kanji, but Niichan would help Yuji figure them out.

_Hello again, Seiichi-kun. I am glad to hear from you. I am glad that the kekkei genkai is obeying you better now. Keep working at it. We will begin lessons on how to make the beast sit soon. I need to find a special necklace for you. It will make things easier. It will take some doing to capture it though. It is guarded by a fierce warrior woman and said to be cursed._

"Wow," whispered Yuji, glancing up at his brother. "Genie-san is going to teach you magic?"

"A special technique."

"Would Dad know it?"

"No, it's something only I can do."

Yuji's eyes widened. Seiichi could do a couple things that Dad couldn't, like making trees obey him. Seiichi-niichan was so cool. "And you get a cursed necklace. How is Genie-san going to get it for you?"

"With his magic, of course."

_It is interesting to hear that Yuji-kun is afraid of the ocean. Kushina-chan never said anything like that, but she received it later on and didn't spend much time near the water._

"Who's Kushina-chan?" Genie-san mentioned her every once in a while.

"She's a kid like you. Genie-san talked to her too. He doesn't now."

"How come?"

"Because we've got the book."

That made sense.

_Yuji-kun is very brave to want to go out fishing despite this fear. I would tell him to wait until he is a little older though. Five is very grown up, but ten is even more grown up. A boy with ten years will catch an even bigger fish even more easily. It will be more impressive if he waits. Patience is rewarding. He will be six soon. And then seven. And then eight. And then nine._

_And then…_

_And then…_

_Ten!_

Yuji grinned.

_Have you been to the city recently? Will you go for the festival? Maybe they will have lots of fireworks. I know your village has festivals for your temple and you have fireworks then, but the city can afford bigger ones. Tell your father to take you. Take very good care of your brother, Seiichi. The city can be big and frightening. It is easy to get lost or disappear. But there are many things to see. So many different people, with skins whiter than Seiichi's and golden or red hair or skins darker brown than even your mother's with curlier black hair. Sometimes, they have their hair in thousands of tiny braids. You might find a person with green or blue eyes. Maybe even a person with purple or red eyes if you look very hard._

Yuji couldn't imagine this. His mother was one of the strangest looking people in their village with her curly brown-black hair cropped near her scalp (only old Ramon-san looked weirder with his dreadlocks), but even she had brown eyes. Everyone had brown eyes. Kin's were not 'amber', no matter how much he insisted they were. And everyone had brown or black hair. "For real? Someone can have yellow hair?"

Niichan burst out laughing for some reason. "Yes, Yuji, people can have blond hair."

"What's so funny?"

Niichan just shook his head and turned back to Genie-san's words.

_Yuji-kun, I hope you are working hard at your secret training and keeping it secret. Seiichi-kun tells me that you have learned all the handseals already. Keep practicing them. See how quickly you can run through the sequences your father will teach you. The faster you are, the better. Kushina-chan used to run through every sequence six times as fast as she could on the way to school. She was very strong._

_You must tell me of anything interesting that happens. Work hard, both of you!_

Seiichi rewetted his brush and wrote the closing sequence that made the words disappear as though they had never been there. "Did you want me to write something for you?"

Yuji took a deep breath in preparation for all the words he had stored up.

* * *

Hiruzen strolled through the village, its restive peace filling him with a temporary haze of contentment. It was always good to be able to communicate with Tenzou-kun and Naruto-kun. With every passing year, Tenzou-kun made it obvious that Naruto-kun took after his mother more in mannerisms despite how closely his looks had matched his father's. From the sound of things, Naruto-kun and Tenzou-kun were being well taught by Takashi-kun. Hiruzen had to wonder if Takashi-kun would be willing to drop out of ANBU for a time upon returning to take on a genin team. The agent was old enough, after all. If he was not going to have children and pass on his line that way, then it would be best to give him official students.

There were other established bachelors and bachelorettes that had contributed to the village in this way when they had shown themselves reluctant to settle down. And, wonder of wonders, some of them had miraculously settled down in truth in the course of mentoring.

The restive quality of the street notched up. Malevolence, awe, and determined ignorance met Hiruzen as he glanced around at others walking the thoroughfare. He knew this pattern well. He turned around and smiled at the Uchiha approaching him.

The Uchiha was shorter than expected, but then, Itachi-kun had yet to reach his growth spurt. He looked haunted, but the boy always did when he returned from a mission where he had had to fight, which was most missions. Kumo hadn't taken Konoha's deliberately shoddy peace offering well those two years ago. Skirmishes had continued along the eastern edges of the northern boarder, often quite bloody. Even an eleven-year-old that had just been promoted to chuunin for his efficiency despite his pacifistic nature could not be spared.

"Hokage-sama," Itachi-kun said, bowing shortly to him, which only made those determinedly ignoring the Uchiha frown more deeply.

"Itachi-kun. Your timing is fortunate. I'm heading to your house. Would you accompany me?"

"Of course, Hokage-sama." Itachi-kun fell into step beside him. "Was all well in the village while I was away?"

"As well as could be expected with your absence. Your brother was quite lonely."

The beginning of a smile curved the boy's lips. "There were no… incidents at the compound, though?"

Hiruzen shook his head. "No real vandalism other than more graffiti with the usual slurs near the gates. I am sorry I cannot keep the incidents from occurring entirely."

"Sparing ninja to prevent the petty strikes is a bit of a waste."

Hiruzen smiled. Yes, this boy was the genius he had been named. If not for the blatant mistrust the village held towards the Uchiha, the boy would have been a clear candidate for Hokage along with Uchiha Shisui, though the latter was more of a fighter than a thinker or a planner.

"Was the unrest concerning my father's position within the Military Police settled?"

Hiruzen sighed. "For now, yes. This isn't the first time they have struck at him, though this is the most determined of the attempts, save the one that occurred nearly six years ago. The hatred was at its freshest then."

"You do believe us, Hokage-sama?" Itachi-kun whispered, staring straight ahead, ignoring the poison directed at him.

"I believe in Clan Uchiha to the best of my ability. It is difficult when no one has been able to get a satisfactory alibi out of your parents or many of the other adult Uchiha as to where they were on that night. My belief means nearly nothing though, Itachi-kun. You must find proof, as I have advised your whole clan, if they were indeed delving into clan business they cannot speak of during a meeting at a location they will not honestly name."

Itachi-kun frowned and dropped his gaze.

"Do not lose hope. Your father has invited me to your home today. Perhaps he has found a lead."

"More like mother did," Itachi muttered. "He can't leave the village, as MP head."

"Yes, most likely your mother did, but she is too discrete to brag."

* * *

When they at last sat around Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto's coffee table, cups of tea at hand, Fugaku leaned closer, Mikoto sitting demurely to his left. "There are rumours that an organization that belongs to no village is hunting the beasts."

"I assume you are speaking of Akatsuki," said Hiruzen, who had heard about it from Jiraiya the moment Orochimaru had begun having dealings with them.

Fugaku nodded. "Clan members have picked up rumours that while they work commissions like any village operative, they have quietly been investigating certain people, tracking down certain powers amongst certain villages. For example, Akatsuki seemed very interested in the Yondaime Mizukage."

Yagura had been the Sanbi's jinchuuriki until his disappearance. "Interesting. Continue your research. Do not forget that finding parties interested in the bijuu is not enough. You must prove their link to the Kyuubi's attack. I am counting on the Uchiha."

Uchiha Mikoto watched Hiruzen with her fathomless dark eyes as her husband bowed his head before following suit.

* * *

Mae curled up on her futon as the back door shut quietly behind the two ninja she shared this mission with and her son.

She hadn't expected him to become her son. She knew that her child had been a girl and probably would have become a girl just like herself, born to a prostitute, born into prostitution, with no thoughts of what else in life there might be, other than perhaps a higher class of prostitution.

Mamoru (she knew that wasn't his real name, but for her, it was) had taken her away from all that and had given her Yuji, who couldn't have been more than a week old. Yuji had adored her, so she had adored him in turn, keeping to whatever orders Mamoru issued without protest as Seiichi watched her warily. Those two had warmed up to her more slowly, glacially slowly. She hadn't realized why until Yuji had been weaned.

"You're done now," Mamoru had told her.

She had violently refused, and Yuji had backed her in his small way.

That was the one argument she had won against Mamoru that counted. Every day that she woke up to see Yuji at the breakfast table was a victory so sweet she could take that Mamoru kept her on a short leash and kept many things from her with Seiichi.

She knew Yuji's hair wasn't really curly brown, similar to the way the illusion made hers, and that his eyes weren't that colour either. She had seen the illusion flicker when Mamoru had been laid up with the flu a couple years ago. She had been bouncing Yuji on her knee when suddenly his eyes had faded to blue, his hair had receded to a golden buzz cut, and his features had sharpened. Upstairs, she had heard Mamoru emptying his stomach into the toilet.

The toilet had flushed, and Yuji had returned to normal.

So, yes, she knew that they were hiding Yuji. For how long, she wasn't sure, but this was the first year she had felt the cloud of their separation truly hanging over her. She had caught Mamoru studying Yuji objectively and trading looks with Seiichi. Late night training sessions had been stepped up.

How long would she have her baby yet? Where would they take him when they took him from her? Would she ever see him again? What would happen to her when Yuji was no longer there to protect her, to keep her near him? Mamoru refused to answer her questions.

They had promised her money, and she had gotten it. It was in an account. Every six months, she would go to the nearby city and check the balance, and it was always steady, slowly gathering interest. She had once wanted that money to break from her lowest rung on the prostitution ladder, to scale the ladder to the top, to even break away completely and train as a geisha, to have some ability to choose whom she lay with, to be desired for something other than how much cleavage she showed.

Now…

She pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes, flashes of colour playing behind her eyelids.

Uncertainty ran chilled fingers over her stomach and intestines despite how she curled up in a ball to ward off the cold. Her eyes prickled and stung as her breathing became jagged and heavy.

She would not cry. Not now, not when she hadn't cried when losing her own child to the beating. No, she was a born whore. She did not cry.

When Mamoru came in, sliding the door open and shut nearly silently, she was still curled in a ball, struggling to be still, be silent. She expected him to go to his own futon, to rush into sleep's embrace, but he paused.

"Hiromi?"

She stayed still.

He padded to her side and pulled the blanket free of her face, following with her hands. "Hiromi." He clasped her hands in his for a moment before tracing the curve of her jaw with a calloused finger. He chucked diamond-shaped knives with this finger and his thumb. She had seen him once. He had called them kunai.

She didn't respond to his touch.

"Hiromi, what is it?" His palm rested against her cheek, warm. "Is it Yuji?"

Mae gave up on feigning sleep. Mamoru was as excellent an actor as he was at picking out body language. "What's going to happen? When is this going to end?"

He sighed and caressed one of her palms for the benefit of their nonexistent audience. Mae had learned on the first day that Mamoru never stopped acting, never broke character. "I can't tell you."

"Because you aren't allowed to or because you don't know?"

"Both."

"I'm right though, aren't I? Yuji is going to go away."

He wrote 'yes' on her palm. It tickled, but the sensation didn't block out the spike of pain/terror/uncertainty/fierce denial.

"And what's going to happen to us? Where will you go?"

'Back.'

"Where?"

He started writing 'home' but paused. He crossed out the character and wrote 'back' again instead.

"Because you have to or because you want to?" she whispered.

'Job', 'family graves', and 'comrades' got traced onto her palm.

She considered this. Mamoru was a ninja, she was fairly sure. Probably a Konoha ninja, so that meant he would go back to Konoha. "And Seiichi?"

'Same.'

"And me?"

'Wherever you want. Whatever you want.'

She sat up and took his palm now, locking eyes with him. He was a primal creature, eyes full of roiling and unknowable purpose when he wasn't guarded enough. He would always be her image of what a ninja was. And she wanted to have that example close. _What if what I want is to go with you?_ But she knew better than to say that. Besides, there were other more pressing questions. 'And will I be alive?'

He didn't even blink at the words she had written on his palm. 'I promise.'

Suspicion weighed heavily in her gut. 'Will I remember?'

He didn't give anything away, a superb actor, but she knew that he was lying when he wrote 'yes' on her palm.

_If I don't remember you…_ She shook her head, her eyes stinging again, so she pulled her palms free to press against the lids. He always lied to her, so it wasn't the dishonesty that burned, she supposed. It was that he had let her see that he lied somehow. He hadn't even spared her the reassurance that believing in his lie would grant her.

He locked his hands around her wrists and pulled her hands away from her face for the second time. After trapping both in one grip, he put his other hand on the back of her neck and drew her closer, pressing his lips against hers. It was the mask though, so she didn't want any of it. Mamoru kissed Hiromi, not Mae. Yuji loved Mae. Seiichi was fond of Mae. But Mamoru only played husband for Hiromi, never for Mae. Instead of accepting kisses meant for an imaginary woman, Mae pressed her lips to the side of his neck instead, breathing in his scent. His unruly stubble prickled against her cheek and then her neck as he mimicked her gesture.

"I'm shaving you tomorrow," she whispered before pulling away.

His eyes were full of the veneer of calm covering showy worry. Totally in character again. "I did promise."

She pulled the mask of Hiromi back on and leaned forward to capture his lips. He responded nicely, he always did, but the meaning behind his motion only touched her skin, nothing deeper. Disgust led her to fumbling her role and pulling away a little too briskly. Shit. She didn't want him to know how he bothered her. "Goodnight," she whispered, burrowing back under her blankets.

* * *

Mamoru watched her snuggle back under the covers.

She had been particularly unsubtle. Interesting. And a little bit sad.

Hiromi was a good actress, to a point. She blended too much of herself in when she dealt with Yuji and Seiichi. Her love for those two was sincere and deeper than she probably meant it to be. Mae came through for them. For him, she managed a little better to keep her character and self separate. She would occasionally lapse, as she had tonight. Mae had come through strongly in her fear and her questions, but that was to be expected, he supposed.

Mamoru was just glad he had somehow managed to trigger her back into Hiromi, whom he could act alongside. Takashi wanted nothing to do with Mae the prostitute, but Mamoru could love Hiromi.

If she was as concerned as she had let on, he was going to have to do something. She was attached enough to Naruto-kun that she would act irrationally if he tried to take him away from her again. Last time, he had let her stay because, honestly, her presence made their act that much better. For her to suddenly disappear would raise questions, which he would have to avoid by moving the entire operation.

Her love for Naruto-kun was strong enough that he wasn't sure a memory block would cut it. To be safe, he would have had to kill her. He hadn't been ready then, though. Hiromi had been a wonderful mother to both boys, created a stable home life that somehow swept the mission under the rug, and had been a good enough wife to Mamoru that Takashi had let it pass.

It had been easier when Mae the whore had just been doing this for the money. That type of loyalty was sketchy but easily dealt with. The deep bonds motivating her now were much more difficult.

He had promised her life though. Hopefully, she would accept the memory block so it wouldn't be necessary for him to break that vow to her.

* * *

Hiromi wielded the blade competently, scraping it along Mamoru's jawline. In the city, the last time they had made the journey, she had seen the usual "safe" razors made with porcelain, metal, and wood since plastic was so precious and difficult to produce in this day and age. She had been tempted to nab a few for herself, to make it easier to keep her legs clean, but then she wouldn't have an excuse to touch Mamoru. After stropping the blade for the last time, she cleaned up the other side of his jawline, flicking her eyes over his neck and lifting his chin to ensure that shadow hadn't hidden anything from her.

She handed over the bottle of aftershave as she wiped the blade clean and stowed it before nabbing her scissors off the kitchen table. The boys were out again, off doing whatever Yuji and Seiichi considered worthy of a Sunday morning after a long training session the night before. Taking the whetstone in hand, she touched up the edge of her scissors before pestering Mamoru into sitting down again.

"Your hair is a mess."

"It seems it always is."

She smiled slightly as she set aside her scissors and made him tip his chair back as well as his head so his hair was under the kitchen sink's tap for the most part. She turned the water on warm and worked water into the hair that the spout missed. He lay back, eyes closed, and let her do as she liked.

Afterwards, as she patiently combed his hair into the proper part and made it lie flat, she wondered who would do this for him when he returned to wherever he was from. Did he have someone there he liked? Was that why he never looked at her, never turned to her for any sort of release? What was his real name?

She supposed she would never know.

The activity she normally enjoyed so much because it was the one time she felt close to Mamoru suddenly became a torment because she really didn't know him at all.

When she finished, she stepped back and helped him brush the clippings off his back once he stood up.

"I'll clean up," he said, heading for the broom. "And it's my turn to cook tonight. What have we got?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Cod." This endless parade of fish grated upon her. She wanted some real red meat, dammit.

He smiled wryly at her disgust. "If you want, you could take Seiichi and head to the herders' village up the track. Grab some salted pork or whatever from their stores. He'll be glad for the outing. I'll keep Yuji amused."

"Do you know where they are?"

He began sweeping. "Down on the docks, probably. Breathe through your mouth so you don't offend anyone with your sweet expression."

She gave him the finger before slinging on her coat and heading out the door, his eyes probably crinkled with amusement behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

Mamoru felt as though that time Hiromi cut his hair had been a turning point, years later. What had once been a truce of sorts became distance. It was gradual and so subtle he didn't realize how much had changed until he fingered his hair, which was currently brushing his shoulders, and turned to Hiromi. "Will you cut it?"

"Hmm?"

"My hair?"

"Oh, sure. Go have a shower, and I'll do it when you get out."

And he froze, realization hitting him all at once. This was odd. She had always started from scratch before, wetting his hair herself. She had always nagged him about his stubble and his hair, but he had been the last one to shave himself. Yet, she was the one coaching Seiichi on shaving. In fact, Mamoru had been slowly taking over simply because more and more she neglected to harass him into letting her do it. It had been a sign of their closeness. That she was being cavalier about it…

"Hiromi…"

She turned to him fully now, the rough cotton of her dull pants and shirt strange when he compared it to the image of her as she had been at their first meeting. Almost eight years now. She had to be what, twenty-eight, twenty-nine? The beginnings of lines were collecting in the corners of her eyes and around her mouth, visible through the henge he kept on her. Laugh lines, fortunately. Her hair was cropped close to her skull, impossibly curly. Her hair had been longer then, and she had worn a deep blue velvet dress and too much makeup.

"How old are you?"

She flinched, her eyes darting away from him. "If I answer, will you tell me the same? A _true_ answer?"

He considered before nodding.

"I'm almost twenty-six."

Seventeen. She had been seventeen, nearly eighteen, the same age Seiichi was now. He felt he should have known, that surely the information had been provided on that long-forgotten mission scroll.

"And you?"

He glanced away now. "Thirty-five."

She smiled slightly. "You don't look it, if that reassures you at all. People don't ask how Seiichi can be your son, but I always wonder why."

He wished he could say the same truthfully, but she looked haggard for twenty-five. Living on the coast didn't agree with her, but then, her previous lifestyle hadn't either if it hadn't struck him just how _young_ she had been. "You look far too wise for twenty-five."

She laughed, but it was bitter. "I've always wondered why no one asked too many questions about me. Even if I looked thirty, Seiichi's too old to be mine. Thanks for being nicer than them about it though, I guess. Go have your shower now. I have to sharpen my scissors."

* * *

"Has she been acting oddly?"

Seiichi ducked under Mamoru's kick as Yuji did sit-ups with his knees curled over a low branch at the edge of their well-established clearing. "You've noticed."

Mamoru did not look amused as he blocked Seiichi's retaliatory strike.

"It's been slow, but she's pulling away from us except for Yuji. She won't ruffle my hair anymore."

"You're almost a grown man now," Mamoru pointed out. "It would be odd."

Seiichi shrugged. "It's little things like that with me. Things that, as you say, can be passed off as a mother letting go of a grownup son. With you, it's a little more obvious. Well, there was always some distance between you two, but the gap has increased. When I go with her to get pork or beef up the track, she flirts with a couple men these days. She didn't used to."

Seiichi could tell that Mamoru was torn between relief that Hiromi would be easier to cast off when their mission ended and worry at how ties were only weakening on certain fronts. He was tempted to roll his eyes. Dad could be pretty dumb.

Mamoru forcefully reminded Seiichi that he was only dumb in one area by creaming him in hand-to-hand combat and combat with mild jutsu before gently sparring against Yuji, correcting his stances without fail and taking blows without wincing that Yuji still didn't understand he was supposed to pull. Seiichi found himself grinning at his father unabashedly as Yuji reluctantly went through a battle at half speed with Mamoru so he could illustrate how to react properly to blows. His little brother was getting better. Seiichi had had very little contact with Academy students, having only attended for a month before blasting through graduation and genin rank to chuunin, but he had the feeling that Yuji knew more about combat than he would have if he had been attending the Village's school.

By the end of the half-speed spar, Yuji was on his butt, panting and scowling. "Dad! No fair!"

"You thought slow motion would give you a better chance?"

"Of course! You win because you're faster than me."

"I win because I know the dance better than you do. We spar to make you memorize the dance. Now go throw kunai and shuriken with your brother. I have handseals to practice."

Seiichi obliged Yuji by having him throw many kunai, focusing on improving his brother's accuracy and precision. Once Yuji was well on his way, Seiichi sidled over to Father. "Sarutobi-sama wrote to me this morning," he whispered as Mamoru ran through the seals for what seemed to be an earth-style jutsu at half speed.

"And?"

"He asks after Yuji's progress. Jiraiya-sama has been pressing for permission to see his godson. At the very least, he would like our location so Jiraiya-sama can visit us and get Yuji used to his presence."

Mamoru watched Yuji chuck shuriken for a moment. "He's not quite ready," he admitted. "His skills are progressing, but he's not strong enough to fend for himself should Jiraiya-sama need to leave him behind to pursue his work. He doesn't know how to operate on his own. He's always with you or me, for good reason."

"His knowledge is also lacking," Seiichi whispered. "He knows nothing of the village structure and international politics."

Mamoru nodded. "Deliberate. A child's ability to keep his mouth shut is always in question. Even with you and me watching him, there was only so much we could do to curb him in public. Keeping him from showing off the results of his training was nearly impossible, if you recall. He is, unfortunately, something of a braggart."

"That usually stems from insecurity."

"Competing with you shouldn't have been an issue," Mamoru mused, his eyes narrowed. "You are much older. Hiromi coddles him compared to you."

"In terms of responsibility, perhaps. Children his age are often trusted with errands to perform on their own, so I've seen. He has never once been without you or me."

"True. Hiromi's unstable position might also be worrying him. He's aware of it on some level."

Seiichi nodded. "He's also feeling left out because your job is not out at sea, as most of his friends' fathers' jobs are. That you work in the village means that his friends can brag about their knowledge of knots and rigging, while he can say little in return."

"The son of a mechanic having little to say. Hmm. Yes, that's true too."

"He learns the ninja trade, but he cannot speak of it. So he compensates by bragging about other things to gain attention." Seiichi glanced up at the patch of sky visible between the birch and maple boughs, which had gone from a dusky pink and orange to blue. Soon there would be too little light to throw kunai safely and night training would begin. "Should I tell Sarutobi-sama to have Jiraiya-sama visit?"

His father nodded. "Jiraiya-sama will need to see for himself that Yuji isn't ready. He can also update us on the situation. The lack of activity here is both reassuring and worrying. Have they found us? Are they just biding their time? If so, why? We are bound here, so we cannot begin to seek out the answers. Jiraiya-sama must not leave a trail to us though. Be sure you specify this in your reply."

"And what are we going to do about Mother?"

Mamoru raised an eyebrow. "Do?"

Seiichi was tempted to bury his face in his palms as his father walked over to Yuji and informed him that night exercises such as tree climbing by feel and moving silently through the underbrush were about to begin. It was one thing to be reserved, as he had to be with the village girls, but it was another to be obtuse about your own wife.

* * *

Uchiha Mikoto looked over her notes and sighed. Akatsuki was subtle. There was no solid proof of any contact with Konoha other than through Orochimaru, though their members took opportunities to quietly track down jinchuuriki in other villages or out in the countryside, since a few carriers had somehow managed to slip away from their villages. Nothing in Fire though.

The very avoidance stank.

"Mother."

She glanced over at Itachi, who had just gotten out of the bath. He liked to soak for about an hour after returning from a mission no matter how pruney he came out looking.

"Any luck?"

She shook her head. "They are laying low, I suppose. I cannot tell you why, no more than I can tell you why they are hunting bijuu but not engaging them, just tracking them."

Itachi looked disheartened, glancing down at his hands as he settled beside her at the table. "Father is angry, quietly."

"You know why. Getting into ANBU would have been perfect for his plans, but the prejudice has been blocking your entrance for two years now. He's getting impatient. We are hemmed in on all sides. Even Hokage-sama only offers us the chance to clear our name, not to ascend higher."

Itachi shook his head. "He kept me after debriefing today."

Mikoto turned to her son now. This sounded more important than her notes.

"He talked about promoting me to jounin, but first he wanted to see if I was interested in interning in Admin."

"In what capacity?"

Itachi shifted slightly, betraying nerves. "He wanted me to work as his unofficial assistant."

Mikoto reached over and squeezed the fifteen-year-old's hand. "And?"

"I told him I wanted to discuss it with you."

She smiled. "So let's discuss. You've been a chuunin for over two years now. You are very competent in the field, but I know you hate it. Do you know what it might mean, that Hokage-sama has offered this to you?"

Itachi's dark eyes met her own. "It could be seen as either an honour or as a leash."

"True, but publicly, it will be seen as an honour. You will be exposed to protocol, to village politics, and to Fire politics. You will meet many influential people. Both Orochimaru and Yondaime-sama served in this way for a time, as did Sandaime-sama for Nidaime-sama."

Itachi's eyes closed now as he nodded. "Oh."

"You see now? This is the reward he dangles before you. He sees you as trustworthy despite your connection to the clan, despite what he suspects us of. He must see you as somewhat removed from whatever plot we are hatching."

"And what if it is a leash in disguise?" he asked, frowning. "What if Father decides to use this position the same way he wanted to use my position in ANBU?"

"He will, and it is." She cupped his cheeks and used her thumbs to lift the corners of his lips. "You are wise though, despite your age. I think Hokage-sama knows what the clan is rumbling for. I think he wants you to prove yourself to him as the bridge between bloodshed and peace."

"And what would you do in my place?"

Mikoto glanced out the window as she mulled over the possibilities. "What your father wants, what the rest of the clan wants, it is shortsighted."

Itachi nodded. "War won't give us anything we want, just pain." The stark belief in his words shone in his eyes.

Mikoto was less of a pacifist. "War is about destruction. Taking out Konoha will destabilize the balance of the Five Nations. While we are fighting here, the other four villages will be circling, along with a few of the stronger minor villages. After razing Konoha to the ground, will we be strong enough to uphold Konoha's position in Fire? I doubt it. It is a foolish idea. The skirmishes on our border, what good do they accomplish other than to fuel tension? Suna and Iwa eye us hungrily while our gaze is on Kumo.

"No, there are quieter ways to achieve the respect we want without prostrating ourselves before Sarutobi-sama, slobbering over his mercy while frantically searching for proof that Kyuubi was not our doing. I would take the position to learn. Learn whether Sarutobi-sama truly wishes you to be in line for Hokage. Learn who the real successor will be and find out whether he shares Sarutobi-sama's preference for you."

"Real successor. Hmm, I guess I am too young to be ready before Sandaime-sama will want to retire."

"Exactly. He probably has someone else in mind. I suspect Jiraiya-sama, but he has turned Hokage-sama down before. Will you find out who the other option is?"

Itachi nodded solemnly as Sasuke burst in the door, back from another gruelling day at the Academy if his complaints to his brother were accurate. Mikoto and Itachi shared a secret smile, one that spoke of fondness for Sasuke and an unspoken pact.

* * *

Yuji returned home from yet another day running around the docks with his friends under his brother's watchful eye to find a stranger in their kitchen seated at their table. Mom looked nervous, but Dad looked happy, jovial almost.

"Yuji, Seiichi, come in and close the door," he said, beckoning them to take seats at the table.

"We're back," Yuji mumbled belatedly, eyeing the stranger as he shuffled over to wrap an arm around Mom's waist as she whispered, "Welcome back."

"This is my uncle, Atsushi. He has finally found time in his busy schedule to visit us," said Dad as Seiichi settled into the chair beside him and shook Great Uncle Atsushi's hand across the table with an easy grin.

Mom ruffled Yuji's hair before pushing him forward. "Go say hello."

Yuji took a deep breath before trotting over and bowing shortly. "Hi!"

The white-haired uncle offered his hand. Yuji cautiously shook it. Atsushi-ojisan looked happy enough, but his eyes were glimmering with tears. "Hello, Yuji-kun. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I've been meaning to for a long time."

* * *

Hiromi struggled to remain outwardly happy at those words, but internally, she was panicking. Waiting, huh? That rang too true despite all the lies Mamoru had been spouting since this Uncle Atsushi had arrived at their door with a genial chuckle and a lewd compliment for her. The focus was entirely on Yuji, having Yuji meet this uncle.

Mae was dead certain that this was no accident.

"Yuji, did you collect many mussels today?" she asked quickly, inserting herself into the conversation before Yuji or Atsushi could begin to talk about why they needed to meet.

Yuji turned his sunny smile on her, and she breathed a little easier. "Yeah, me and Tori filled three pails. Arata wasn't as fast: we helped him fill his second one. Hoshi-jijii gave us eighty ryou for our buckets."

"That's twenty a pail," she said with a frown. "Last time he gave you twenty-five."

Yuji shrugged. "He said he had some already, so he didn't need them as much. He's heading to the city tomorrow, so I'll be able to get more for the pails when he comes back. I brought some home for us. Niichan and me washed them outside."

"Do you want them for supper?" she asked the table at large.

"I'll cook them," Mamoru said, getting up. "Hiromi, sit down. They're drying outside?"

Seiichi nodded, and Mamoru slipped out the door to collect them.

Hiromi took his seat and fought not to cringe or react like the whore she had been at Atsushi's leer. She had the feeling he knew who she had been and that he knew her kind well despite his age. "So, Atsushi-san, what is it that keeps you on the road?"

"I'm a travelling writer. Wandering brings me new inspiration, so I always keep on the road. I can't keep my editors waiting for my next manuscript for too long."

"It must be hard to edit," she said, "what with the collaboration required between you and your editor. I imagine you're stuck in one place then."

"Hmm, yes, usually. Sometimes I manage to set up forwarding for the notes my editor sends me because I can't sit still any longer. The time when I'm writing is the best for travel though."

"What about book signing? Promotional tours?"

He appraised her from behind his smile. "I don't do book tours. I write under a pen name. We use my identity as a selling point, a mystery for fans to debate."

"Interesting."

Seiichi was watching her carefully, worried. She smiled to reassure him, and he cracked a weak grin in return. Obviously, he wasn't keen on her cutting questions for their guest.

"Can we speak frankly?" Atsushi asked her, glancing at Seiichi, who was silently balking.

"Let's," said Hiromi.

"I'm glad you stayed here with him. I was told you would be done once he was weaned, and that would be that, but I'm glad. His mother would have be pleased. She was so eager to meet him, to teach him her ways. She wanted him to not be like the others that had mocked her dream to be the village leader. She believed women should be able to do whatever they wanted. If he didn't have you, I don't think he would have had the opportunity to understand that."

Hiromi stared. Yuji's real mother, whoever she was, had apparently been strong, someone who was maybe a ninja, interested in being a Kage? Had she succeeded? Was that why Yuji was being hidden? Because his mother was dead, would her enemies come after Yuji?

"What are you talking about?" Yuji said, glancing between the three of them with a scowl as Mamoru came back inside.

A glance passed between Atsushi and Mamoru, who shrugged and sighed.

Mamoru set the bowl of mussels on the counter and stood behind Yuji's chair, placing hands on his narrow shoulders. "Yuji, we're going to tell you parts of a big secret. I need you to be mature about it. That means no crying, no screaming, no running away, and no getting angry. You need to stop and think, like I've been teaching you."

"Like a warrior," Yuji said, craning his neck to stare up at his father.

"Exactly. Now, gather your calm and listen quietly. We are going to tell you some of what is and cannot be changed. Not everything, because that must be earned with your progress."

Beside her, Seiichi ran through a series of hand motions under the table. Nothing happened except a chill ran down Hiromi's spine. "No one should be able to hear," Seiichi said.

Atsushi and Mamoru nodded their thanks.

"First, Yuji, Atsushi-san is your godfather."

Mae trembled with terror. So this was the man they were raising Yuji for.

"Your mother and father appointed him to take care of you if anything happened to them, but he has many jobs other than writing that made this impossible."

"Mother and father?" Yuji whispered.

"Your mother and I are not your birth parents, though we love you as if you were our own, never fear." Mamoru gave Yuji some time to absorb this, carefully appraising the boy's expression.

Hiromi couldn't take the panic that was creeping in, so she reached across the table and clasped his hand. "Yuji, you are my son. Don't worry. Even if I didn't bear you, you are my son, always."

The eyes that met hers were filled with incomprehension.

"Yuji, I have always known. This changes nothing for me. You are my son. Am I still your mother?" She tried to keep her voice steady throughout her question, but it broke on the object.

Yuji stared at her for a chilling moment before squeezing her hand back. "Yeah," he whispered. He turned back to Mamoru. "And you're still Dad."

"I am honoured."

"What about Niichan?" Yuji's eyes sought Seiichi's now.

"We share no blood, but you are still my little brother, Yuji," Seiichi promised. "Still a brat."

"But are you Mom and Dad's real son?"

Seiichi shook his head. "No. I am like you that way."

Yuji just breathed for a while after nodding. The table must have been intriguing given how intently he was studying it.

"You are doing well," Mamoru said, squeezing his shoulders. "Your calm is good. Nothing horrible has been said yet. We are still family even if we aren't related by blood. And your godfather is here for you now."

"Who were my blood parents?" Yuji whispered.

"I cannot tell you their names yet," Mamoru said, carefully not looking at Hiromi.

She could tell that her presence was the only reason this simple information was not being handed over. It made her furious. "I'm not going to betray him," she hissed, glaring at Mamoru. "He's my precious son. If you're so finicky, I'll plug my ears and hum."

Now Mamoru met her gaze, appraising her. She could see the contempt that characterized the man behind the veil of Mamoru peering out at her. Her glare deepened.

"Hey now," said Atsushi, waving an arm between them. "There's no need for this. Hiromi-chan, I'm sure you're trustworthy. Mamoru-kun knows that or he wouldn't have let you stay for so long. Right?"

The man pretending to be Mamoru studied her despite the attempted interruption. The contempt faded slightly, but somehow Mae understood that this wasn't the mask of Mamoru being snapped back into place. No, whoever this man was had softened towards her slightly. "I trust in her moral fibre when it comes to Yuji. That much I can say without reservation. However, the more knowledge you hold, the more dangerous it is for you, Mae."

She flinched. He had never called her that name since they had walked out of that sweets shop all those years ago together. She had always been Hiromi. "Dangerous how, sir?" she asked. "The dangers you have been watching for have not appeared in these all these years. Your paranoia has not been rewarded."

"The danger exists," Atsushi insisted. "What is going on isn't exactly known, but whoever went after his mother wasn't caught. I've been hunting alongside others for years. Nothing solid. My master suspects someone, but we cannot find him or proof."

"Do you want me to leave the room?" she asked, keeping her gaze on Mamoru. "I can go see if my friends at the teahouse want some company."

* * *

Takashi appraised Mae and her offer silently while he felt the tension and fear stiffen Yuji's shoulders beneath his hands. The boy was beginning to figure out just how divided his parents were, and it was scaring him. However, Yuji's fear wasn't the priority here. Secrecy was.

"That's a good idea," he said. "Thank you for offering."

She froze as though she hadn't expected him to agree before nodding and slipping the mask of Hiromi back on. Squeezing Yuji's hand one last time and giving him a smile, she pushed back her chair and stalked to the door, nabbing her coat off the hook as she passed. The door shut firmly behind her.

"Why can't Mom know?" asked Yuji.

"Because she is not like Seiichi, your godfather, me, or our master. She is not a ninja. She cannot defend these secrets, so it is better to not have her carry them. That is why she cannot know what we are about to tell you. If the people who killed your blood mother come for Hiromi, it is better for her to be ignorant."

Doubt was written plain across Yuji's face as he looked up at him, but Takashi didn't allow any uncertainty.

"This is why we insist on secrecy for your training. If it became known that you were learning to fight, rumours would grow and spread and bring the attention of those who killed your blood mother here to threaten us. You have kept the secret well so far, which is why we haven't been targeted." Mamoru glanced at Jiraiya, who nodded.

"Even I didn't know where you were being hidden until I was told."

"Your parents were ninja of Konoha."

"Ninja…" Yuji didn't look especially happy.

Mamoru could tell that Jiraiya-sama was confused by this lukewarm reaction. "No, they were not daring sailors. I apologize."

Yuji sighed. "Yeah, it kind of sucks. What sort of cool things do ninja do? They don't sail through storms or fight off sharks or hunt whales."

Mamoru struggled not to snicker.

Jiraiya-sama was gaping. "Oi, brat, are you for real?"

Yuji glanced at him. "Yeah. All ninja are just good for killing people. They're fighting some stupid war up north, right? Hoshi-jijii told me and Tori about it. He hears all sorts of rumours in the city."

Jiraiya-sama turned to Mamoru. "I'm extremely disappointed in you. How can this child not know how cool ninja are?"

Seiichi was struggling to keep a straight face. "Yuji, when I control the trees, that's a ninja technique."

Yuji turned to him. "What? Really?"

Seiichi nodded. "It's something the First Hokage could do."

"Oh, okay then."

"Your mother was a kunoichi, a female ninja, named Uzumaki Kushina. Your father was Namikaze Minato. Both were jounin rank in the village, which is the highest skill ranking you can achieve." Mamoru was gratified when Yuji looked a little more impressed.

"What rank are you?"

"I am a jounin as well. Seiichi is a chuunin. Atsushi-san is a jounin, but he is part of a renown group of ninja called the Sannin of Konoha. They are extremely powerful. Your father was his student."

"What's a chuunin?"

"Chuunin is the next rank down from jounin. Genin are the lowest."

"Three ranks. Huh. Not like on a big ship. There are cabin boys, navigators, hands, lookouts, gun officers, first mates, and captains."

Seiichi chuckled. Jiraiya-sama groaned.

Mamoru just sighed. "Yes, Yuji."

"Are you going to tell me more?"

Mamoru considered. _You must become a ninja so you can complete the task your father left for you, so you can properly protect our village as a jinchuuriki. You will be leaving us soon with Jiraiya-sama. Your name is…_ He glanced at Jiraiya-sama.

"Kid, would you like to hear about your parents? They had some great adventures."

Yuji looked a little less than enthusiastic. "Um, maybe later? After supper?"

Jiraiya-sama looked crushed, so Mamoru stepped in. "After supper then. Seiichi, can you go retrieve your mother?"

"Can I go get her too?" Yuji pleaded.

Mamoru nodded and let Yuji slip out from under his hands and hurtle towards his sandals as Seiichi followed more sedately.

After the sound of footsteps on gravel faded, Takashi turned to Jiraiya-sama. "He took it very well."

"He didn't care."

Takashi shook his head. "Of course not. He's had us as his parents. Expecting him to be hanging onto every word about his previously unknown real parents isn't realistic. He's in shock, just hiding it very well. He's going to need some time."

"You know him very well."

"Of course. I've been his father for nearly eight years."

"Minato is his father." Jiraiya-sama was scowling. "No matter what genjutsu covers his hair and eyes and makes him look a little more like a blend between you and Mae-san, he is Minato's son."

Anger flooded Takashi. "I've raised him. He's as good as my son."

"You've protected him and trained him."

Takashi slammed fists down on the counter and turned to glare at his superior. "And disciplined him. Taught him words and numbers. Read him stories before bed." He exhaled raggedly.

Jiraiya-sama looked taken aback, but then understanding and regret appeared. "I'm sorry. He has been your son. I never expected you to get so attached."

Takashi rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't either. I didn't even know I was until a moment ago. I have watched Mae clutch him close and make herself his mother, but I never thought I was like her. I thought I had managed to maintain better detachment than that."

"When you live in a role so long, it begins to creep in and become reality." Jiraiya-sama looked as though he spoke from experience. "Your longest mission before this one was two years?"

Takashi nodded. "When I was twenty-three. It was strange to go home. It hurt to leave some of the friends I made in my cover role. This is far more intense though."

"Of course it is." The Sannin sighed. "I can't take him yet. He's not ready."

"No," Takashi agreed, "he's not."

"I'll teach him what I can about politics and current events, but serious teaching isn't really my thing. Besides, I've got to keep on top of all the shit the other nations are up to right now. I'll be by when I can, but…"

"I can handle the rest. I didn't want to start him too early. He might have blabbed something."

"Yeah." Again, the Sannin sighed. "I'm used to getting them when they're twelve. What am I supposed to do with a seven-year-old?"

* * *

Yuji sprinted ahead of Seiichi, determined to be the first one to reach Mom. Everything was off kilter, the ground was bucking beneath his feet, but Mom would make it better. She always did.

She wasn't at the teahouse. Terror gripped him as the two ladies inside babbled worriedly that no, they hadn't seen his mother since yesterday, not really, unless you counted seeing her walk past through the window. She was heading for the docks, they thought.

Yuji sprinted off before they could finish gabbing.

Mom was standing out on the longest pier, a dark figure against the grey of the ocean and the sky. She was hugging herself against the early spring chill.

Yuji sprinted over the pier's damp planks, ignoring the schooners that would normally have caught his attention. The sound of his footsteps carried over the sound of the wavelets smacking the schooners' hulls and the creaking of taut lines.

"Mom!"

She turned after a moment and crouched, opening her arms to him. He slowed a little before slipping into her embrace. He was supposed to be a warrior about this, a ninja, but the ninja had sent his mom away, had upended his world. He was sick of ninja. He let himself bawl because Seiichi was far enough away that he would have time to stop.

"Hey now, hush, it's okay. It's okay, Yu-kun. I'm here. I'm still your mom, no matter what. And you're still my son, no matter what anyone says, okay?"

"Uh-huh."

She stroked his hair and rubbed circles on his back as he struggled to calm down.

"I don't want to be a ninja," he whimpered into her shoulder. "I want to be a sailor. I want to be a captain."

"Oh, Yuji, I'd love to tell you that you can do whatever you want, that you can be whatever you want, but I can't. I don't know what's going to happen. I can't make them let you."

"But I don't want to!"

"I know, baby, I do. I don't want to leave you. But some things are decided for us. Sometimes we aren't powerful enough to make things go our way no matter how much we cry or plead. The powerful people make the rules. The strong. You and I are not strong enough to make those people listen to us."

"You're going to leave me?" he whispered, terrified.

"Shh, no, of course not."

"But you just said—!"

"Shh, it's okay. When you're a grown man, of course you're going to leave me."

"But I'm only seven," he said.

"And that's why you're not leaving and neither am I." She pulled back and smiled brightly at him, but there were tears on her cheeks.

"Mom—"

"Hush."

"Mom!"

"It's nothing. Did Atsushi-san tell you about your parents?"

"You and Dad are my parents!"

She smiled again but tapped his nose. "That's not very nice to your poor mother and father. I'm sure they very much wanted to be your parents, but they were unable to, so your father and I were lucky enough to get to be. But you should still learn about them. I'm sure your mother spoke to you every day when you were in her tummy."

Yuji considered this quietly. "How old was I when you met me?"

"A week old. You were so happy to have something other than goat's milk."

He wrinkled his nose. "But I thought moms only make milk when they've had a baby? That cat did…."

Mom pursed her lips. "I was having a baby, but my baby died. She died before she was born, like that kitten that got strangled by the umbilical cord."

Yuji stared at his mom, horrified and uncomprehending.

"I was so happy that you needed me. I was so happy that I could give you what you needed."

"Do you light incense for her?"

Mom shook her head. "She didn't have a name and was buried in my old town. She didn't have time to breathe in a soul. She would not have lived a good life, if she had lived. I was very poor and had a pretty bad job before your father brought you to me."

"Is that why you love Dad?"

"Exactly. Your dad was very kind."

"But he kicked you out and you fight all the time."

"Yes. But he was very kind to let me be your mother."

"If you split up like Kin's parents, I want to go with you."

"I don't think you would be allowed to, but I'm glad you'd want to." Mom glanced over his shoulder, and Yuji knew that Seiichi-niichan had caught up. "Wipe your eyes. We can't let your brother see that you haven't been the perfect warrior."

Yuji dragged the back of his hand over his eyelids, smearing the tears into nothingness.

"Now take my hand," she said as she stood up. "Let's go see how your father has fared in the war against your mussels."


	4. Chapter 4

Yuji leaned back against the tree trunk he was sprawled in front of. He was still warm enough despite only wearing a t-shirt and pants because of the escaping exercises that were part of the night training routine. If he could keep Dad and Seiichi from cornering him for an hour, he won.

The best he had managed over the years was half an hour. He was mighty proud of that, all things considered.

Seiichi-nii crossed his arms and looked down at him with a sigh, a dark shape in the gloom. Yuji could just barely make out his features. "You know I can't do that," his brother said, shaking his head.

"It's damn annoying to never be able to go anywhere without you or Dad. You'll be the scariest thing at the test of courage, with that face of yours!" Yuji shot back, sneering. "Everyone knows you tail me. People say, 'Oh, how sweet! Look: it's your stalker brother who still lives at home even though he's twenty-three and should be married to some nice girl by now!' Do you have any idea how embarrassing that is?"

Seiichi raised an eyebrow. "We're not supposed to leave you alone. I know you're getting competent, but until you can beat Father and me, you aren't strong enough to be on your own. You're much farther along than children at the Academy would be since you've been privately tutored since you were four, but no genin is powerful enough to fend off the people that killed Kushina-sama."

"But do you two have to follow me around so obviously? Can't you be all sneaky about it?"

"We could," Niichan admitted, "but it's funnier to watch you get ribbed. You used to follow me everywhere. I'm just paying back the favour."

"Bastard," Yuji muttered.

"What a foul mouth you have when Mom's not around."

"Hah! She's the one that taught me how to swear properly. She knows words even Hoshi-jijii won't say. Prostitutes learn these things from each other and their clients."

Seiichi shook his head. "Only you would hero worship her for surviving as a whore."

"Only Mom could make prostitution cool. Besides, even ninja know how cool prostitutes are: kunoichi pose as them sometimes during missions. Whores know _everything_."

Seiichi laughed and leaned forward to ruffled Yuji's hair. "You're a freaky kid, you know that?"

"You're just jealous that I'm more adaptable than you. Besides, Mom wants to be a geisha, which is epic. The only thing that would be more epic would be if Mom was the captain of a ship."

"You take being a supportive son to new highs and lows, Yuji."

"Shut up."

"Anyway, skipping back to your complaint, I guess for the test of courage I can tail you discretely or warn Father to do the same."

"And will you obviously be somewhere else?" Yuji pressed, scowling.

"We'll use a clone, fine."

"Finally. Geez, this had better become your standard modus operandi. It's getting damn embarrassing to have Dad on my tail."

"Damn embarrassing, is it?" said a voice right behind Yuji's ear.

With a squawk and some flailing, Yuji got turned around to spot Dad crouching with a broad smirk on his face. "Goddammit, Dad, why do you have to be so creepy sometimes?"

"Because you still flail like a civilian. You should have been halfway across the clearing the moment I breathed too close to you. You didn't even draw a kunai. If I had been trying to kill you, you would have been dead before I had spoken."

Yuji stuck his tongue out before he turned to frown at his brother, who was doubled over and shaking with mirth. "You could have warned me, you douche."

"I'm going to introduce your mouth to soap," his dad said mildly.

"You don't threaten Mom with soap."

"If you keep this up, I will. Usually, she keeps a civil tongue in her head."

"I'm not even saying any of the really bad words!"

"And if you do, I'm going to scrub your tongue clean of their taint with a steel bristle brush and lye soap." Dad was deadly serious.

Yuji gulped.

"Only street rats should have a vocabulary as bad as your mother's at twelve."

"I'm almost thirteen. It's August, Old Man. And Mom was a street rat. Sort of."

"But you're not. Yondaime-sama was more impressive when angry _because_ he didn't start running his mouth."

"And my blood mom?"

Dad grimaced. "Kushina-sama was of a more… exuberant temperament."

"So she swore lots." Yuji grinned.

"She very much lived up to the stereotype that redheads are hotheaded."

Yuji chuckled. "See? Both my moms are badass."

Dad pinched the bridge of his nose as Seiichi snickered.

* * *

Mom was dancing to the radio when Seiichi walked into the living room four weeks later. The radio was tuned to a pop station, and she was… what was it called? Ah, liquid dancing to the beat. Yuji was tucked into the corner of the couch, clapping out the beat with his friend Tori-kun, whose face was a rich blend of fascination and horror.

This wasn't unusual. She had done this a bit during their first year together, Seiichi recalled. Her habit had petered out as the months had passed, and she had instead focused on fitting in with the more traditional crowd that called Kirigishi Village home. She had started again when Yuji, who had been nine at the time, had witnessed a group of people around Seiichi's age breakdancing during their traditional summer visit to South Port, which was the biggest city on the south coast of Fire. Mom's status of "rad" had been assured when she had winked at them and slipped into the group only to start showing off skills she must have picked up during her prostitution days. Dad hadn't been around that day, fortunately, or he might have had something to say about acting one's age.

Mom looked older than her years, but she moved like someone much younger.

Yuji had pestered her into dancing at home since that demonstration.

A techno song faded in as Mom beckoned Yuji off the couch. "Come on, stick in the mud! You're not just going to watch me." She fixed Tori with a glare, but the other boy's eyes widened and he shook his head frantically, waving his hands in front of himself.

She grabbed Yuji and forced him to shuffle in sync with her as Seiichi made himself comfortable against the doorframe. Next to Mom, Yuji looked a little spastic, but he was improving. Seiichi just wasn't sure how this skill would be useful even if Yuji was better at it than Bunshin no Jutsu. Shaking his head with a grin when they switched styles as the next song started, Seiichi pushed off the doorframe and headed into the kitchen to get them glasses of water.

Tori-kun was still glued to the couch, looking traumatized by the way Mom was using her hips, when Seiichi got back. Swallowing snickers, he passed the kid a cup as Yuji kept to moves that required less shaking of his butt. "What's that one called?" Seiichi asked.

Yuji shrugged and kept going.

"Crank that. Came out the year I got pregnant," Mom said, stepping his way and stealing one of his glasses to chug it down. "Old school, but hey, why not? So what brings you back from work early without your father, boy?"

Seiichi snorted. "Dad's finishing up a winch for the _Runner_'s crew. He says we're hitting the city this weekend. _Runner_'s captain's gonna take us there as payment."

Mom nodded in time with the beat. "Cool. Sounds good." She began to shuffle back out into the middle of the living room.

"Atsushi-jijii is meeting us there."

She missed a beat as Yuji jump-turned to face him. "Really? The old perv's gonna meet us?"

Seiichi nodded.

"Cool. Mom, maybe he can hit clubs with us since Seiichi-nii and Dad are sticks in the mud about it."

Mom snorted. "You think they're gonna let someone your age in? Hah!"

"I'll go in under—"

Seiichi twitched slightly before Yuji could say "henge", a warning.

Yuji smoothly recovered. "—a really big coat and tall boots."

"Pfft!" crowed Tori-kun, clapping. "You're gonna look like a fool."

"But I'll be a dancing fool," Yuji said, crouching slightly and doing that flapping motion with his knees, "jerking" if Seiichi remembered correctly.

Mom groaned at the awful phrase, but there was an edge of fear to it.

* * *

Mae sat in the prow, staring out at the waves they were ploughing over as the crew of the _Runner_ adjusted the sails and shouted nonsense to each other. Yuji was helping them with the lines, ecstatic that he was finally out at sea for real again instead of tacking around the village harbour. Mamoru and Seiichi were in the stern with the captain, discussing who-knew-what.

It had only taken one look at Mamoru this morning as they had loaded their bags into the ship and set sail to know that this was it, the day she had been dreading for more than twelve years now.

How would they stop her from going after them? Probably by erasing her memory somehow. If ninja could make Yuji a curly-haired brunette when he was actually blond, she had no doubt they could fiddle with her memories of the last twelve years.

What would they make her remember instead? Where would they leave her? What goals would they put in her head?

Shivering, Mae tucked her head between her knees and chest.

* * *

Mamoru shouldered Yuji and Hiromi's bags as Seiichi escorted Hiromi in her search for a grocery store. The pair pushed through the press of the crowds near the huge harbour, heading towards the nearest alley that would take them to the shopping district a little further up the slopes of the long-dead volcano that South Port was built upon. Yuji lugged Mamoru and Seiichi's extra satchels, which were far lighter than the other bags, in Mamoru's wake. They were heading in nearly the opposite direction and sticking with the noisy masses.

"Dad, where are we staying this time?" Yuji shouted, tugging on his shirt.

"Atsushi booked a suite for us. He said something about a view of the harbour." He checked building numbers as he led the way onto the boulevard at the ritzier end of the waterfront. 192. There it was. Yuji gaped at its twelve floors for a moment before scampering after him. It wasn't the nicest building on the row, but it was swankier than anything Mamoru would normally have dared to walk into without a target waiting on one of the floors. He shook that image out of his head. It had literally been ages since he had been assigned an assassination mission.

He wrangled with the receptionist and accepted three copies of the keycard before calling Yuji away from poking at the tropical plant growing in the oversized pot. He zipped past the feeble elevator and headed for the stairs, Yuji whining on his heels.

"Sixth floor."

"Goddammit, Dad! Do you know how many steps that is?"

"Why don't you count them as we go? Then you can go on and on and on and—"

"Dad."

"—on about them to your mother."

"You think you're so funny."

"And you think you can get away with being this lippy. That's okay, son; I'm sure you'll see the light by the sixty-fifth step."

"… I hate you."

Mamoru grinned. Yuji wasn't panting by that sixty-fifth step, but he was breathing a tiny bit harder than normal. Mamoru felt appeased as he snicked his keycard in and out of the door handle. There was a beep, and he twisted the handle and pushed the door open.

Yuji whistled brokenly as he shuffled in around him as Mamoru held the heavy door open for him. "That's a cool view."

"That it is," called a voice from the living room.

Mamoru set the bags down in the foyer and headed into the living room to bow deeply before the couch, where the old Sannin was seated. "Jiraiya-sama, thank you for seeing to our comfort this way."

"Head up, Takashi-kun. Even that Kakashi kid doesn't bow that way to me anymore, and he used to be more hung up on protocol than anyone else.

Mamoru raised his head. "I am the Hokage's hand, Jiraiya-sama."

"… Dad?" Yuji looked a little nonplused. "Did the old perv just call you Takashi?"

Jiraiya-sama growled at his son's less than polite nickname for him and waved the boy to take a seat. "Your father took on a name for the mission, just as your mother and your brother did. It's not safe to use your real name for undercover missions. We did the same for you."

"Yeah, I know my blood mom and dad named me Naruto. I just didn't think that Dad and Seiichi… What's Mom's real name?"

"Mae."

"Huh. What about Niichan?"

Mamoru took over for this one. "He was codenamed Tenzou when I first met him just before we left the village with you. His real name is classified, as is his life outside of ANBU. Unlike most agents, he doesn't have a village persona."

Yuji's brow wrinkled with confusion. "But your name really is Takashi."

"I was given the name by my parents, yes. It is what I am commonly known in Konoha as."

"Why wouldn't Niichan…?"

Mamoru shook his head. "I wasn't told. My understanding is that there are special circumstances surrounding his childhood, similar to you. He was sent with me to be your brother so that he would acclimatize to normal civilian interactions between family and friends. You've done a good job showing him how to be a brother."

Yuji looked awed and a little sad. "So it was all for me? You guys wouldn't have been family without me?"

Mamoru got up and ruffled the boy's hair. "You are very rude to say so. Acting as though you are the centre of our world! Tch!"

A frail smile replaced the forlorn expression on his son's face. "I'm gonna go claim a room, okay?"

"You do that. Take that ton you call a bag in with you. We'll be here for a week, but don't get too comfortable—"

"We might have to move on the fly, I know," Yuji said as he rolled his eyes and walked away to peer in every room. "Because we're not at home anymore, there's no telling how many ninja are around every corner. Blah, blah, blah."

"Don't take this lightly, brat," said Jiraiya-sama. "South Port is the biggest port in Fire. That used to be East Port, but it's mostly a ghost town since Water Country closed their borders on top of the halt of trade between Lightning and Fire because of the skirmishes. All the gangs from East Port relocated here over the years to compete with the local gangs. It's not settled. Territory brawls spring up even on the best days during tourist season. Ninja come here to knock off targets, to keep fingers on the pulse, and to stir up trouble."

"If you say so. I call this room." Yuji scampered back into the foyer to grab his duffle bag and drag it into the room.

"Get back out here, brat. I've got some questions for you."

Yuji reappeared two minutes later.

Jiraiya-sama ran a hand through his shaggy white hair. "Have you been told about the fox?"

Mamoru blinked.

Yuji nodded slowly after glancing at him carefully for permission. "Genie-san mentioned it to me when I turned ten. He's been telling me more and more about it. Seiichi lends me the journal sometimes, so long as I promise not to read his cover entries. Genie-san and I get into huge discussions about the fox and how he's important and how Kushina-chan dealt with him."

"So he's been instructing you on how your mother controlled the beast." The aged jounin looked relieved.

"Wait, what? My mom?"

"'Kushina-chan' is your mother," Mamoru said. "She was the last carrier of the Fox."

Yuji looked as though someone had brained him. "But Genie-san said that she was a little girl."

"She was when she received the fox."

"But that means that Genie-san is _really old_!"

Mamoru laughed. "Sarutobi-sama is getting on in years, yes. He had mostly retired to let your father rule over the village before you were born."

Yuji gobbled for a few moments, obviously trying to catch up. "So Genie-san is… Oh! How is that even possible?"

"Secret sealing techniques. Maybe someday I'll teach you," Jiraiya-sama said. "It's a Konoha secret though, so you'll have to prove yourself worthy."

"But it's so useful! It's like being able to send a letter instantly. Why wouldn't we share that with everyone?"

"Because what if the enemy ninja in Kumo, who attack our northern border every other week even after all these years just because it's habit now all because after blinding the Hyuuga heir, they didn't get her father's corpse the way they wanted it, what if they could use it too? Worse, what if they could tap into our letters? See who we're going to send to counter them, see what important Fire people are going to be where? This is why we don't share, kid. We need any kind of edge we can get. The balance between the five major villages is tricky. I told you this. We're not at peace, but we're not engaged in an all out war either. If Kumo would stop dicking around and accept that non-aggression pact they've been throwing in our faces for seven years now, we'd have a ceasefire across the board."

Yuji grimaced. "Okay. But I still think it's silly."

"Brat, didn't you listen to a word I said? It's not stupid; it's vegetatively dumb. This entire situation is beyond dumb. The way the nations interact is moronic. The way Kumo keeps expanding and amassing more and more military might, making all the other nations nervous and do the same, that's stupid." Jiraiya-sama leaned back in the couch and sighed. "But I've been told I'm even more of a fool for hoping that someday we'll find peace, that all this bullshit gets wiped away and we can do things like share useful jutsu with everybody to make life better."

"Then I guess that means I'm a fool too?" asked Yuji.

"You got that right, kid. You want to be my fool apprentice? We can go try to show the world who's the fool together."

Yuji chewed on his cheek for a moment. "I guess so, Fool-sensei."

Jiraiya-sama grinned. "Excellent. Welcome to the club."

Mamoru shook his head and went to claim his own room.

"You still going to share with Mae-san?" asked the old jounin.

Mamoru glanced back and shrugged. "She suspects something is up, but it might reassure her a bit. I'd rather she didn't panic until the end."

Yuji was glancing between them suspiciously, but both men ignored his questions.

* * *

Two nights after their arrival, Seiichi glanced into his parents' room to spot his mother tugging a pair of skinny jeans out of the bottom of her duffle bag and throwing them on the bed she and his father shared. Father had been a little nonplussed to learn that this place didn't stock futons and that instead he was expected to share a queen-sized bed with Hiromi. From the bags under his eyes, going from sleeping in separate futons to a bed together had unsettled him. Seiichi was torn between pity and vicious glee.

Mom then dug out a vibrant purple top that was low cut enough that Seiichi was certain it was from the old days.

Yuji was crowing with glee in the living room, bouncing around Atsushi-sama, who had agreed to escort him and Hiromi to a dance club and help get the underage boy in so long as he agreed to promise his mother he wouldn't drink at all. Father had been out scouting when this had been settled.

Seiichi wasn't looking forward to explaining why everyone was missing when Mamoru got back because of course he was the one that had to stay behind and guard the suite. Not that he really wanted to go clubbing, but being forced to stay behind like this when everyone was so wound up was more than a little unfair. Atsushi-sama looked over the moon at the chance to ogle club-going women. Yuji was showing the old man his "killer dance moves".

After locating a plunge bra, Mom ripped off her shirt and regular bra without bothering with the door and then began fumbling with the button of her trousers.

Rolling his eyes, Seiichi shut the door for her. Mom had never been shy, but she had usually tried to act as though the thought of her sons staring at her naked body wasn't quite the normal way of things. "Practice the henge you're going to wear," said Seiichi, turning to Yuji.

Sticking out his tongue, his brother ran through the handseals quickly and came out looking like Father had about eight years ago. It was a little disturbing. "How's that?"

Jiraiya-sama crowed with laughter. "You look just like Takashi's Mamoru henge but with less grey! I've never seen him as the clubbing type. This'll be interesting."

Seiichi walked over and poked a finger at the henge's eye.

His father's image dodged properly despite the two-foot difference between Yuji and the henge's eyes.

"Good. Mom will flip out, you realize."

Dad's face took on Yuji's smile. "I know! It'll be so funny."

"Ha. Ha. Ha."

Seiichi spun to take in Mom's unamused face. Despite the years, the skinny jeans and purple wrap sleeveless top fit her very well. She wore enough makeup that she could have passed for being about five years younger than she actually was.

Atsushi-sama wolf whistled. Mom showed him the finger. "I was a whore, but I wouldn't bang you if you paid me, old man."

The image of his father bouncing over to his mom and clapping enthusiastically would never leave Seiichi and would forever make it difficult for him to take Dad seriously.

"You are so rad, Mom!"

"Why thank you, m'boy. Do you have to wear your father's face? It's a little creepy. He wouldn't go clubbing with me if I paid him."

Father's face grinned Yuji's grin again. "So this'll be a once in a lifetime chance! Come on! It's either this or I go as a girl. I'm not so good at adult men. Getting them to sync up with me properly is hard. But Niichan already tested me, and I passed."

"Fine, fine. Just don't blame me when your dad blows a gasket." Mom grabbed Yuji's hand and swung it. "You ready to rock the beat? They might even have a DJ."

"That would be so cool!"

The two headed toward the door as Atsushi-sama pushed himself off the couch. "Have fun keeping house, Seiichi-kun."

Seiichi was tempted to flip his superior off as the door closed behind the trio. Maybe Mom had rubbed off on him too.

* * *

"Okay," said Mae, glancing up at her son and trying not to freak out at how Mamoru's face was grinning at her, "I've got to explain some things to you."

"Okay, shoot!" Mamoru's… No, Yuji's teeth were bright white in the streetlights.

The click of her low heels on cobblestones was loud in the not quite empty street, but Yuji was silent in his sandals, as was Atsushi-san. Goddamn ninja. "Clubs aren't just a place to dance. When I worked the streets, I would go there for a break, but other people use them like I used the streets or the brothel: as a place to pick a partner up. We're just going to dance, but some people will be too drunk to pick up on our 'not interested in sex' vibe."

Yuji nodded, only the slightest flush on his face.

Mae struggled not to stare; she had never seen Mamoru blush before. Damn but she had missed out. This was so creepy. She felt creepy. That was her son. "Anyway, these people are going to try to touch you, maybe even in places that really aren't appropriate if they're really far gone. You use your wicked skillz to get out of their way before it gets to that, you hear me? Guy or girl, you don't let them touch you like that. Now, some of them are going to try to use dancing as an excuse."

"Like that grinding thing you talked about."

"Yeah, like that. Tasteless. You aren't allowed to do it until you're at least eighteen."

"So none of that. Okay, got it. Can't we just go to a place where that doesn't happen?"

Mae's lip curled. "Mood changes quickly on the dance floor sometimes. I'll try to pick a nicer place, but there's no guarantees. Just try to stick close to me, okay?"

"Got it."

Mae reached up and ruffled Mamoru's oh so familiar hair. The illusion reacted properly and made something in her chest ache when Yuji smirked down at her.

"Now, if there is a DJ, you need to know some etiquette…"

* * *

Mae-san was struggling. Jiraiya could see it in the way she was oscillating between leaning closer to the henge and maintaining the usual space she kept between herself and her son. She knew the truth of the illusion, but she wanted to buy into it so badly. Poor woman. Jiraiya had to wonder how Takashi-kun handled it.

Mae-san picked out a likely club, one that didn't have a long lineup outside the door full of giggly drunk girls, which disappointed Jiraiya, but he let it go, headed straight to the front of the line, and nodded at the doorman, shamelessly abusing the power of genjutsu. Since Mae and Yuji looked more than old enough, the burly doorman nodded respectfully and let them in without blinking at the wave of protest from the lineup.

He wove through the gyrating bodies and flashing lights, bound for the bar. He felt a little out of place, but it wasn't so bad that a few drinks wouldn't ease it. Mae and Naruto peeled off halfway across the dance floor and found themselves some space as the current song started getting blended in with a new track, the DJ carefully matching the beats on a battered set of turntables with a switchboard that had definitely been built about thirty years ago.

Sound equipment was impossible to get new these days. Most of the speakers had to be from the last brief peace between the Five Nations. Anything electronic came from a city hidden deep in Wind Country's outback where researchers worked tirelessly to copy outdated technology with whatever minerals and oil they could dig up out there or have Suna ninja sneak out of Earth. Most of Sand's GDP was generated by the Silicon City, or Circuit City as it was colloquially referred to. Currently, the city wasn't exporting unless you happened to be a billionaire. It was part of Wind Country's way of thumbing its nose at everyone else for letting the Chuunin Exam idea get blasted to pieces. The exposure Suna would have gotten at the gladiator-style final exam would have more than made up for their remote location.

Jiraiya sipped his plain sake and searched the pulsing sea of dancers for a glimpse of his two charges. He found nothing until he escaped the bar with a bottle to see him through the evening and found a raised section of seats and tables for those who had come to drink and watch rather than dance. He located the duo dancing their own way in the middle of a very small space, surrounded by some people who obviously weren't as versed in the fine art of hip hop besides the most basic bouncing to the beat and waving their arms in the air. As Jiraiya watched and partook in the passable liquor, other competent dancers began to gravitate towards them, though they gravitated towards them as well. Soon a little knot of about nine people were having what Jiraiya assumed was a dance off. Each had their chance in the centre of the circle their fellow contestants carved out of the crowd and maintained for them.

After one young man managed some very impressive breakdance moves that could have hurt a lot, Mae took over and made water look clumsy and jittery even as she somehow managed to emphasize every beat. She quickly switched it up with something a little more flailing, something similar to what Naruto had been showing off before they had left. Without missing a beat, she began to retreat back to the edge of the circle and beckoned Naruto forward.

The kid had a blast, grinning fit to split his face in half, before relinquishing the centre to a newcomer that tried out something that looked very robotic.

And then something made Jiraiya glance at the club door and grimace.

Takashi-kun had found them.

* * *

Mamoru's momentum dissipated when he hit the edge of the dance floor. Seiichi had told him where they had headed but hadn't been able to give him a particular destination. He had roamed the streets instead until a few young women in line for this club had squealed to each other about how similar he looked to some other "hunk" who had just jumped the line. He had made quick work of the doorman, which helped get rid of the bad taste in his mouth.

The club, as all others he had ever visited, stank of sweat, alcohol, and pheromones, though it was early enough in the night that the last was only just beginning to mingle in the reek. A hand wave caught his attention; Jiraiya-sama was seated higher up. He made his way towards the man, weaving carefully through the dancers that were staggering more than dancing this close to the bar. He settled on the chair Jiraiya-sama offered him and shook his head at a waitress carrying a tray at another table who glanced questioningly at him.

"They're over there," the old jounin said, gesturing at a little group that was taking up a disproportionate amount of space and attracting a lot of attention from those dancing just outside the cordon they were maintaining around the floor they had claimed. The man in the centre spun on his head before snapping back to his feet in time with the beat. Those watching cheered.

Mamoru picked his doppelgänger out of the cordon easily. The boy really had taken his face. His _younger_ face. "That brat."

Jiraiya-sama laughed. "Hmm, yes, he claimed yours was the only adult male henge he could do well enough."

"Where is she?"

Jiraiya glanced at him with an unfathomable expression. "Two people to his left."

Mamoru picked her out. She had an air about her that very much reminded him of how she had been when he had first met her. "She must have been keeping those clothes at the bottom of her drawers. Thank goodness. I can't imagine what sort of talk would have gone around if she had worn those back in the village."

"It's not something you'll have to worry about anymore."

He nodded. "Why did you bring them?"

"Let them have their fun. That's what this last week is for. Besides, I get to have all these wonderfully energetic young women performing for me. Excellent research material. Anything to report?"

Mamoru shook his head. "Same as the other nights. I saw many sneaking around, but they didn't seem interested in us, just their own targets. Seiichi hadn't detected any undue attention directed at our building when I checked in with him."

"Hmm. Well, that's good. What now? Will you go back out there to double-check, or are you going to keep watch here with me? Or maybe even go join them?"

Mamoru scoffed. "I know as much as that group bobbing in front of the speakers that the DJ is eyeing malevolently for messing with his sound."

"But you knew that the DJ was irked about his sound quality."

He narrowed his eyes at Jiraiya-sama's grin. "And you think people wouldn't notice how similar Yuji and I are?"

"You're the undercover specialist. You could alter your face enough to take care of that problem."

Mamoru just shook his head.

"Oh, there he goes! She taught him, I suppose?"

Yuji had claimed the centre of the circle now. He wasn't quite as good as his company, but they seemed willing to give him time in the spotlight.

"I guess so. Seiichi said they would practice while I was at work sometimes."

Jiraiya-sama shook his head. "He's nothing like his father. I couldn't see Minato here in a million years. Dragging him to a quiet pub was a struggle. He was more at home in the library or at a training ground. And his mother… No, she was more focused on being strong. She liked a good party, but this is more modern than her scene. Too much of a tomboy to be interested in the clubs like this one in Otafuku Gai."

Mamoru glanced around, praying that no one had heard that last bit. Otafuku was too close to Konoha for it not to be suspicious.

"Ah, the South! All the wonderful women here! The heat that makes them wear such nice swimsuits! The music!" Jiraiya-sama raised his sake dish, grinning blissfully. "Southern Fire is a treasure beyond compare."

Mamoru was tempted to bury his face in his palms as people glanced at the old jounin with raised eyebrows despite how loud the music was. The waitress was eyeing him less than happily though, so Mamoru waved her over and asked for a light beer. It was just enough that her scowl slipped behind her professional mask. He tipped her well enough that she started smiling again as she disappeared to get his order.

Purple caught his eye as Hiromi—no, she was Mae right now—as Mae took over the circle and proved as never before that she had nothing in the way of shyness. Not with the way she was apparently flirting with another member of the circle, moving deliberately to draw his eyes to her hips. Mamoru smirked and shook his head. That woman. Her target bowed and removed an imaginary hat in her direction with a flourish to concede defeat. Yuji looked faintly horrified. It was enlightening. Mamoru had never had the chance to witness his face while wearing that expression.

Mae eased Yuji's horror by laughing and turning to him while beckoning him closer, still moving with the music. Yuji took her hand and let her spin and dip him, laughing with the rest of the circle as she set him back on his feet. She leaned close and shouted something in his ear loudly enough that he nodded and waved her off while returning to his place in the circle as someone else took over the centre.

She pushed through the throng, accepting pats on the back and hand clasps and nodding at those who acknowledged her without invading her space as she made her way to the bar only to notice Jiraiya waving her over. Her eyes then found Mamoru's, and she paused, her gaze flicking back to Yuji, as though to check that it was really him. Her smile faded a bit, but she approached them just as his beer arrived. Mae scooped up the tumbler and slurped at the foam before taking a large gulp and dragging another chair over to their table, grinning at his raised eyebrow.

"Who said you could steal my beer?" he asked.

"Well, you obviously ordered it just for me. I didn't want to insult your generosity."

Jiraiya-sama snorted and refilled his sake dish. "Getting too hot for you out there?"

Mae shook her head. "It was getting a little unnerving. I can't imagine Mamoru here out there, but then Yuji goes into the centre and everything is just so weird. I need alcohol to handle it." She reached out and ruffled Mamoru's hair as she stole his beer again.

He tolerated this with a glance skyward. "You've got me pegged."

"Aw! That's such a shame!" She ran a finger down his arm. "You're graceful. I'm sure you'd be fine. And you're a quick study, I'm sure."

He stole his beer back and took a long pull. "You need to get me far drunker than this to make me even consider it. Which you don't have time to do. Look."

She followed his finger and spotted how a pair of girls from outside the circle were getting far too close to Yuji. Growling, she snagged Mamoru's beer, tossed back the dregs, and stalked back out on the floor, but not before catching the waitress. "Keep his beer coming, or whatever else you can get him to drink that's heavier," she told the girl, gesturing at him. "I'll cover it."

Nodding with a smile, the waitress headed back to the bar to nab a pitcher full of cheap beer and was quick to refill his glass.

Mae had disappeared back into the throng, safe from his glare, as Jiraiya-sama snickered.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** Okay, if you have issues with Hinata, please read my explanation at the bottom before you come raging at me.

* * *

Mamoru woke to a dull ache behind his eyes, a dry mouth, and Hiromi curled up half on his chest. Anything warm exerted an irresistible force of gravity on her sleeping body, he had discovered over the past couple nights. Grumbling, he pushed her off and made his way to the door through the gloom. He could hear her shuffling into the warm spot he had left as he carefully listened at the door for anything odd before slipping out.

Jiraiya-sama was in his usual spot on the couch, writing in the soft yellow light of a table lamp. He nodded acknowledgement to Mamoru without looking up.

Leaving the old jounin to it, Mamoru padded into the kitchen and got himself a glass of water from the tap without bothering with a light.

The barest suggestion of a smudge of blue-grey on the eastern horizon told him it was around four in the morning. They had gotten back at around two. He swallowed the dregs from his glass and found his way to an armchair in the living room, which he slumped into, rubbing his temples. "Anything?"

"All's quiet. Are you going to go back to bed?"

Mamoru shook his head. "I'm awake now. I'll keep watch."

"She being clingy?"

Mamoru ignored that.

"A specialist is coming on Saturday. I requested the best. I'm fond of her, so there's no need to take drastic measures to ensure security."

"Hmm."

Jiraiya-sama arched an eyebrow at him. "You are a cold man. A good ANBU agent, but cold."

Mamoru frowned at him. "I'm just doing my job."

The Sannin nodded, but his raised eyebrows conveyed disbelief. "I heard a rumour about you from your comrades the last time I was in the village. I don't know if you know, but Hyuuga Sora has two children with her husband."

Mamoru crumbled, and Takashi struggled to keep the pain off his face. "I thought that was what would happen."

"But you still agreed to the mission."

"She refused me. There was no point in pining." Takashi shrugged. "Nothing would have changed her mind. She is stubborn in that way."

"She is a Hyuuga."

Takashi paused. "You're saying bloodline was part of it."

"For them and the Uchiha, it always is. The eyes don't always breed true, so they pair their children carefully. She couldn't have accepted you even if she had wanted to."

Takashi sighed. "I considered that, but that didn't seem to be her primary objection. Either way, the path is closed."

"Sarutobi-sensei was talking about easing you back into village life."

"How so?" He wasn't particularly interested in going back to life in Konoha knowing that all his old bonds would be frayed if not fractured. Thirteen years of separation…

"He was hoping you would temporarily drop out of ANBU and take on a genin team."

"Heh. I'd rather be sent back out and start all over again."

"That's what he thought too. But I think you need time being Takashi. You've been Mamoru for too long. I'm seconding Sensei's recommendation."

Takashi bowed his head before meeting Jiraiya-sama's eyes. "I'll consider it."

"Oh, and you are a quick study, but I think you need a lot more practice before you try that breakdancing thing again."

Takashi managed to resist the urge to flip his superior off. Just barely.

* * *

Yuji was ecstatic that he and Mom managed to hit the dance floor almost every night until Saturday. He got to see all sorts of moves his mom hadn't been able to imitate well enough to teach him. Some of the breakers were so awesome! And jump style was so cool! And krumping! And c-walk! And all those different shuffle steps!

During the day, he and Mom would wander the streets, looking for groups that were doing what they did in the club in the light of day. They found a few, sometimes even managing to run into the people they had been dancing with the night before, not that they recognized him. Yuji didn't need to wear his dad's face and height during the day when no one was enforcing an age limit. They'd ask about him, especially when Dad was with them, but he and his mom would just say he was off somewhere else or sleeping.

If Yuji was lucky, sometimes the dancers they ran into a couple times would bear with him and slowly teach him new steps. Mom bullied Dad into learning some breaking moves with him once. Yuji had always known his dad was super strong, but even their temporary sensei had been wowed when Dad had managed the balancing and contorting without flinching. Dad just didn't have much of a sense for the music, which made Mom snicker.

Seiichi was a stick in the mud and just watched and laughed when he was with them.

But the old perv… Well, some of the b-girls and other female dancers had gotten sick of him. Yuji and Mom tried to stick with Niichan and Dad after that.

That was why Saturday threw him off so much. Dad was going to go out with them to grab stuff for breakfast and poke around as usual, but Seiichi grabbed Yuji's shoulder just before he headed out the door of their suite. "I've got something I need you to look at."

Yuji shared a glance with Mom. Oddly, fear was starting to creep into her face.

"Don't worry, Mom. I'll go with you after breakfast. You have to come back and get me."

For some reason, Mom turned to Dad and studied his face for a moment before dropping into a crouch. "Yuji, come here for a sec." Her voice was wavering.

He hustled into her arms and hugged her tight, her fear beginning to infect him.

"I love you," she breathed into his hair. "Okay? Don't forget that."

Fear made him dig his nails into her back. "Mom, what—?"

"I'm just nervous because someone got murdered last night. It was in the papers this morning. I'm sure it will be fine. I'll see you when we get back with breakfast. Seiichi, get over here." Mom pushed him away and pulled Seiichi-nii into her arms for a moment as he patted her back. "We'll bring home crapes or something, okay?"

Dad nodded, promised to keep Mom in one piece, teased her for worrying for nothing, and shut the door behind them.

"What was that?" Yuji asked his brother.

Seiichi shrugged. "Who knows. Anyway, I got a message for you. It said I was supposed to show it to you right away."

"Geez, Genie-san can be kind of demanding. Couldn't it have waited until we got back?"

Niichan shrugged. "Come on."

Atsushi-jijii was sitting on the balcony, writing as usual, Yuji noted as he followed Seiichi into his room. The book was on his bedside table.

_Naruto-kun,_ said the message for him below the text directing Seiichi to make him read it. This was the first time Genie-san had called him Naruto-kun.

_I know this will be difficult, but it is no longer safe for you and your family to remain as things are. My agents in the south have noted unusual activity, much of it pointed your way. We have been incredibly lucky that Mamoru managed to keep you hidden as long as he did, but not even he is perfect. How they caught wind of you, I cannot say for certain. It could have been several stories that someone very clever pieced together, like the date of your arrival, the strange appearance of your parents and brother, or how your family could not be traced backwards, though your father did leave false trails to muddy those waters for a time. You and Seiichi have no birth records anywhere, except flimsy ones Mamoru manufactured. It could have been Jiraiya's visits._

_The cause is not important anymore. The point is that we must break up your family for everyone's safety. The mission is over._

_Your father is returning to Konoha, as is Seiichi. Your mother will go into hiding._

As soon as Yuji read that, he threw aside the diary and sprinted for the door. Mom had known.

Seiichi ran after him, but Yuji ignored his orders to stop, to come back. Instead, he ploughed down the stairs. There was no sign of them in the lobby or in the street outside. The elevator was empty.

For the first time, Yuji loathed how Dad was a better ninja than him.

Crouching down in the lobby, he wrapped his arms around himself. "Mom."

* * *

Mae came to in an attic; the window had apparently been their entry point since Mamoru was standing guard in front of it. She considered panicking and beating him and howling her grief and terror in his face, but she knew it wouldn't do any good. So she just sat up and dusted off her shirt.

"Oh, you're awake." A woman wearing a white mask in the shape of a monkey's face with green and red markings on it emerged from the shadows.

"Who are you?" Mae asked cautiously.

"I'm here to make sure you're safe. I was supposed to edit you before you woke up, but—"

Mamoru shifted. "It's easier for you to buy into the memories if you have some affinity with them. I wanted your opinion." He moved away from the window and hunkered down near her. "What do you want to have lived instead?"

Mae froze. "So I'm not allowed to remember anything." Not allowed to recall watching Yuji grow up and return her love so unconditionally. Not allowed to languish in daydreams about waking up beside Mamoru or recall teaching Seiichi how to shave properly. Never again. Tears stung, but she had always suspected this would be how it would end.

"No. We can't take any chances. Yuji is more important than you can ever know. It's best for you if you don't remember anything about him at all. We will take you to anywhere you wish and set you up so your situation matches your memories."

"What were you going to give me if he hadn't insisted on my input?" she asked the monkey woman.

"Geisha training. I was supposed to set you up in Port Mure in Wind Country."

"How was that safe?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"We have people in Port Mure. They would have kept an eye on you."

Mae glanced at Mamoru. "And what if the memory block breaks?"

Monkey shrugged.

Mamoru took over. "You would probably be eliminated as quietly as possible. It would take too long to send someone to repair the block."

Mae considered this carefully. "Then I want you to set me up in Konoha."

Mamoru froze. "What."

"If I'm in Konoha, even if my block breaks, there will be a ninja able to repair it, right? Less dangerous for me. Anyway, give me that geisha training and some years of service. Give me a daughter who survived for four years before passing away. Have her buried as of yesterday. Send me to Konoha. Let me decide what I'll do when I get there. Maybe I'll start off waiting tables or something." _If I'm in Konoha, there's a chance that I'll see Yuji again someday._

"Done," said Monkey. She reached forward with a pale hand and placed it on Mae's forehead.

Mamoru's unsettled face was the last thing Mae saw as her vision darkened.

* * *

Jiraiya sighed, knelt, and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Kid, come on. Back upstairs. Mamoru is going to let go of your genjutsu in about an hour. You can't suddenly change appearance in the hotel lobby."

Naruto glared at him, the slightest traces of Minato's familiar scowl bleeding through despite the henge that gave him subtle traces of Mamoru and Hiromi-san's features. "Back off!"

Shaking his head, Jiraiya grabbed the kid's ear and hauled him to his feet. "Up you get. Come on. Not all hope is lost. I'll tell you how to find her, but first, you have to hear me out about everything and _why _all this is happening."

Hissing, Naruto followed his ear into the stairwell. Jiraiya released the kid when he was one step ahead of him. "Go on," said Jiraiya, placing both hands on the railings, herding the boy up the stairs.

Naruto pounded up the steps rapidly, his head bowed, and shuffled to their suite door.

Seiichi was waiting in the foyer, the diary in his hands. "I'm sorry," he said when Naruto glared at him.

Jiraiya swatted the boy upside the head. "Don't go after Seiichi. He's ANBU; he can't disobey the Hokage."

"He's my brother!"

"He's also Sarutobi-sensei's hand. That's what ANBU agents are. Seiichi has been one since he was a toddler. Forgive him. Besides, what did you think you were going to do if you did find your dad helping your mom into hiding? You can't go with her. You're not strong enough to protect her, so your proximity would just endanger her." Jiraiya slipped off his sandals and headed for the couch. "Come, both of you. Sit."

Seiichi bowed his head and strode over smartly. Naruto hesitated for a while, a nasty expression on his face, but he eventually gave in and threw himself into the other armchair.

"Seiichi, Mamoru will be heading out as soon as he finishes laying clues for the authorities. As soon as we are done here, you have a choice. Because you can help Naruto hem in Kyuubi with Tsunade's pendant but haven't had a chance to try attuning yourself to it, you can accompany us to find her and get her to hand it over. At that point you would head back to Konoha. The other option is that you head back now and meet up with us when we capture the pendant, attuning yourself then."

Seiichi glanced at Naruto, but the boy refused to meet his eyes, more interested in staring down at his crossed arms. "I'm… I'm not sure yet."

Jiraiya nodded. "Think about it. Naruto, stop pouting."

"My name is Yuji."

Jiraiya snorted. "Your name won't be either in a few minutes, brat. Yuji is dead the moment we leave the lobby. We need to develop a new identity for you so you can travel with me safely. This would have happened at any point during your time in your village had any strange ninja started sniffing around. This is what it means to be in hiding, kid."

Naruto scowled.

"Pick a name."

"Katsuo."

"Good. Now, we need to create a new face for you. How good are you at maintaining a henge while you're sleeping?" asked Jiraiya.

Now the kid grimaced.

"He's pretty terrible," Seiichi said, glancing apologetically at his brother. "He loses hold of it the moment he starts to drift off. His genjutsu ability is solid after all the practice we made him do, but it will take him a couple weeks to create even the most basic feel of a different hairstyle over his buzz cut."

"Okay, then we're going to give you a crutch for the first few months." Jiraiya got up and retrieved some ink and paper from his room. "We haven't got much time. Boy, you have twenty minutes to build your new face and body. Seiichi, go pack for both of you. We have to be out the door in forty minutes. Think about your choice as you're working."

"Hai, Jiraiya-sama!" Seiichi snapped a salute and crisply headed into Naruto's room, probably figuring that there was more to collect there.

"Boy, you can't be blond or have curly hair and you can't have blue eyes and you can't keep this face. Other than that, go wild."

* * *

Katsuo fingered the tiny pouch strung around his neck as he followed the man who had been Atsushi-jijii through South Port's suburban streets, Seiichi-nii on his heels, looking strange as a lanky man with blond dreadlocks. He was still shaken and desperately wanted to sulk, but Jiraiya wasn't giving them any time. He hadn't been kidding. Katsuo had felt his hair sans curls like his mom's fifteen minutes ago for the first time.

Dad's genjutsu had dissolved. And Yuji had died.

Katsuo's eyes stung, but he just kept clutching the pouch. Inside was a piece of paper covered in carefully inked lines. It would maintain the most basic genjutsu feel of his appearance and henge—which had shaggy black hair, darker skin, and a couple snaggle teeth—while he was asleep. The henge was nowhere near as complete as the genjutsu he had worn had been, since it just enforced the visual basics with no real details, but Katsuo hadn't had time to develop anything more complex. Jiraiya had promised they would fix things when they got out of town.

When at last they stood at the crossroads of the trail that led east towards the narrows of Fire and then down into the southern arm and the track that connected the capital to South Port, Jiraiya stopped. "Seiichi, your choice?"

"Katsuo?" Seiichi-nii said, crouching down in front of him.

Katsuo pursed his lips and couldn't meet his eyes.

Seiichi sighed. "I guess I'm going back to Konoha, sir. I wish you luck with tracking down Tsunade-hime. Please send me word when you succeed."

"Enjoy your return to the village. Takashi asked me to tell you that if Hokage-sama forces him to become a jounin sensei, you're welcome to drop in on him. He said he'd help you find an apartment if you are allowed a life outside of headquarters."

Seiichi bowed his thanks. "Katsuo, I want you to carry this. You know how important it is to keep it safe." He pressed the journal into Katsuo's hands. "I know this is hard. I want you to know that I enjoyed being your brother and that you can count on me any time you find yourself in Konoha. You've taught me a lot of things I don't think I would have learned otherwise. I hope to see you soon."

Shaking his head, Katsuo gave up on being angry at what he was positive was a betrayal for the moment and wrapped his arms around Seiichi's waist. "Bye," he whispered, clutching his brother hard. "Tell Dad I'm pissed at him for not saying a proper goodbye to me. Tell him I'm not going to forgive him for taking Mom away."

Seiichi squeezed him in return. "I will."

Katsuo tried to let go, he really did, but in the end, Seiichi had to use Kawarimi no Jutsu and left him hugging a log. And that was the last Katsuo saw of Yuji's old life.

He pitched the log into the underbrush at the edge of the crossroads before shoving his hands in the pockets of his baggy jeans. Jiraiya set a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, kid. We've got a lot of road to travel, and I want to avoid all that walking. The toads have offered to lend me a hand."

* * *

Kato Eiko set the last of her kimonos in her chest before snapping the lid shut and pushing the latch in until the lock clicked. The carter was hauling the waterproofed canvas sacks full of her pillows and blankets out to the cart.

"Here," whispered Ayaka-chan, grabbing one side of the chest. "I'll help you load it."

Nodding and biting her lip, Eiko grabbed the other steel ring and together they managed to haul the pine chest into the back of the cart. She managed to not look into her daughter's room, empty now. The heavy weight of sorrow in her chest made her stagger, but she could just pass it off as fatigue. She hadn't slept since the ceremony, too busy packing.

"Do you have to go?"

Eiko nodded, unable to meet Ayaka-chan's eyes. "I can't stay here. Too many memories. Besides, what real geisha has a daughter, never mind survives her? No, I need something completely different."

"What will you do there?"

"Wait tables, bus tables, who knows. I'll figure it out. I've changed scene plenty of times now, not like you, Miss I've-never-lived-anywhere-else."

Ayaka threw up her hands. "Fine! Be like that! Run from your sorrow instead of being brave and facing it head on! Leave me here to grow old and tend her grave."

"You will, won't you?"

"Of course I will."

"I'll write."

Ayaka shook her head. "Don't bother. What use does a high class geisha have for the proper technique when wiping tables?"

Eiko shook her head with a wry smile. "A beautiful bitch. That's you."

"Don't forget your coat. Eat well on the road no matter how tired you get. Travel dirt doesn't contain all of the essential nutrients."

"Yes, Mom." Eiko accepted the coat and fastened two of the buttons before giving Ayaka a quick squeeze and hopping onto the cart's front bench beside the driver, who clucked to his mule. She forced a smile and waved to Ayaka as they trundled down the road until her fellow geisha waved back once and headed inside.

"To Konoha, ma'am?" asked the carter.

"Yes, we've gone over this so many times already."

"Yep, yep, ma'am. We go. Want to be sure."

* * *

Hiruzen looked over at Itachi, who waited passively at his shoulder despite the B-rank mission scroll he was about to hand over to his little brother's genin team. This mission should have gone to a chuunin team, but his chuunin teams were out at the borders, keeping an eye on every section except for the north eastern segment Kumo was still sending teams to gnaw at. Jounin and ANBU were handling that section.

That left genin handling what they could and a bit of what they couldn't when chuunin had yet to rotate back.

"The daimyo of Wave Country has requested that this sealed mission be taken care of. Hatake Kakashi, I would leave the entire thing to you, but…"

The former ANBU agent bowed his head and accepted the scroll. "They'll get the necessary experience. Their years as a team have been well spent."

"I leave planning the strike to you. Be quick and be quiet about it. We're not supposed to meddle in Wave's domestic matters openly. If you are successful, I will grant your request for chuunin testing for your team."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

Sasuke-kun, Hinata-chan, and Yoichi-kun belatedly bowed, Sasuke tapping Hinata-chan on the shoulder discretely so the mostly blind girl would be in sync.

"Good luck." Hiruzen rubbed the bridge of his nose when the doors closed behind Team 14. "What brings you in, Itachi-kun?"

"An agent is waiting for you in your office. He claims to be Tiger–19."

That got Hiruzen to his feet. "Really? Excellent. Come with me, Itachi-kun."

The boy fell into position just behind him as they headed for his office. Itachi-kun preceded him through the door, eyeing the agent cautiously before stepping aside to let Hiruzen enter. It was a surprise to see a man kneeling where Hiruzen had been foolishly expecting a boy. "Welcome back, Tiger–19. It has been so long. I don't suppose you have been homesick?"

The man raised his head and shook it. "Rat–67 and his partner did very well. I was sad to have the mission end."

The Hokage smiled. "I'm glad those two managed to create that for you. And Yuji?"

"With his godfather, though very unhappy. He was very attached to Rat's partner. I have the feeling he will try to hunt down her whereabouts despite our best attempts to dissuade him."

"You left him the book?"

"He took it. Whether he will use it properly is in doubt. He is very angry…"

Hiruzen nodded as he settled on his well-worn cushion, Itachi kneeling a ways behind him, waiting to be dismissed. "Did he manage to develop a new cover?"

"Superficially; we were pressed for time just before I headed here. His godfather promised to help him complete it. They are heading to the rendezvous point. They promised to send word upon success."

"Then you have time off until then." Hiruzen held out a hand. Itachi-kun quickly set his crystal globe in it before resuming his position. The Hokage worked the jutsu and peered into the glassy depths. "Rat–67 has been delayed, apparently. It looks like there has been a change of plans because I expected him back in the village minutes before you. However, he is beyond the limits of my sight."

"I did not cross paths with him."

"There were probably complications in settling matters with his partner. I gave him some leniency in how to compensate her." Hiruzen passed the globe back to Itachi. "In any case, I'll debrief you thoroughly later. Your quarters in headquarters have been opened up for you. Go get some rest."

"Actually…" Tiger–19 looked a little sheepish. "I'm rather hungry and I would rather not find out what they're cooking in the mess hall. I have bad memories; forgive me, Hokage-sama."

The old man laughed. "Ah, it's interesting what stuck with you, Tiger. Itachi, six hundred ryou cash advance for Tiger here so he can eat on the town. Maybe you should act as his guide… Unless you'd rather not have company, Tiger?"

The man shook his head. "No, company would be welcome. I don't know my way around at all anymore."

"Excellent. Itachi can catch you up on village gossip. Enjoy your rest. I'll be by to debrief you tomorrow before noon. Itachi, when you have gotten 'Tenzou-san' safely back to ANBU HQ, please come back. I have a mission for you."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," the two chorused.

"Dismissed."

* * *

Uchiha Itachi was a reserved young man, professional to a fault, but he somehow exuded warmth and care. Tenzou hadn't believed it of him, but the jounin's younger brother was waiting for them outside Admin, explaining everything without a word said. Uchiha Sasuke was the sweet and touchy type, especially when it came to his rival and hero, Itachi. The brothers took him to a Korean BBQ joint at his request and settled into a booth with him. He wanted something other than fish.

And that was when Tenzou learned that the Uchiha brothers were chatterboxes only when in each other's company with food to fight over. They traded good-natured insults, spat curses, and generally acted so much like Seiichi and Yuji had that Tenzou was hard-pressed to keep the ache in his chest from showing on his face.

They told him all about village gossip, such as the tension between Sarutobi-sama and his youngest son, Asuma, who was currently acting as a half-assed sensei to the next generation of the Akimichi, Nara, and Yamanaka clans. The genin's fathers had apparently had a similar team, so the continuity made people nostalgic and "gooey" according to Sasuke, who Tenzou managed to piece together was loose friends with the Nara boy.

Hatake Kakashi had apparently made headlines by taking on a genin team as well, which Sasuke-kun was puffed up with pride over being a member of. Tenzou vaguely remembered his senpai (if Dog–12 could be called his senpai—Tenzou had been part of ANBU since he had been recovered from Orochimaru, if unofficially, while Dog had joined at fourteen) as a serious and upstanding jounin that had been very close to Yondaime-sama, being his last living student. The way Sasuke-kun described "Kakashi-sensei" made Tenzou's eyebrows climb: lazy, offhanded, and constantly reading pornography.

The brothers then enthusiastically talked about how their clan were the pariahs of the village: revered for their genius but hated for their assumed treachery when it came to Kyuubi's attack. The boys didn't seem to know why their clan elders couldn't shake off the accusations with a sound alibi, but they were gleefully graphic in describing the sort of petty vandalism and bullying they brushed off as well as how their compound and clan members were specially monitored by ANBU. Other restaurant patrons studiously ignored their conversation during this topic.

Sasuke-kun then proceeded to gush over how Itachi-kun had been the Sandaime's assistant, just like other Hokage candidates had been, and how he was still in and out of Admin all the time.

Itachi-kun was quick to change topics before his little brother got into full swing bragging. "There are some interesting developments going on in the Hyuuga compound as well these days. Hyuuga Hinata was nearly totally blinded during a kidnapping attempt by a Kumo emissary that her father interrupted. The Kumo-nin threatened her harm in an attempt to keep Hiashi-sama at bay, but unfortunately, the attempt to free her resulted in her getting her eyes slashed."

Sasuke-kun slapped the table and glowered at his brother. "Don't talk about Hinata-san like that. She's my teammate."

"I'm just trying to get Tenzou-san up to speed. He has been gone for years. Hokage-sama ordered me to make sure he knew enough to understand village currents."

Grimacing, Sasuke bent to grilling another bit of meat.

Itachi took that as silent permission to continue. "She lost one eye and the other was badly damaged. She has advanced amazingly through special coaching, but her younger sister is apparently a stunning ninja even though she has yet to complete the now required three years in the Academy. Her father is moving to have her made heir in her sister's stead. There is protest since this would break the line of succession and because there is a group that has pointed out that Hyuuga Neji, the son of Hiashi-sama's younger twin brother, is more skilled than both of them put together with half the training, so if there is going to be a break in tradition, it would be best to pass over both girls and install Neji instead."

"Which is bullshit," Sasuke-kun muttered. "Hinata-san has worked very hard to keep up with us. It's awful that her father is dismissing her efforts."

Tenzou filed away how Itachi squeezed his brother's shoulder briefly before continuing his explanation. "While I was away, I heard rumours about the Hyuuga heiress being blind and that somehow Kumo's demands for recompense over the incident resulted in the continued skirmishes."

Itachi nodded. "Hiashi-sama was furious that the kidnapper had dared to blind his heir before he managed to kill him. When Kumo demanded his corpse, Hiashi-sama managed to get enough support from the elders that the body they sent had no eyes."

"Totally gruesome," Sasuke-kun said before popping another piece of meat into his mouth. "It was his twin's body, too, apparently. Neji-senpai never talks about his dad, and he hasn't been seen in the village despite how he exists in the records."

Tenzou was not at all surprised that clan matters were the subject of gossip here. In the fishing village, only his family had managed to keep truly private matters like who Yuji was and what their true purpose there was quiet. Anything else, like Mamoru and Hiromi's frequent fights, had been picked apart by the next afternoon. "Hmm. What about factions in the Council?"

Sasuke glanced at his brother hopefully, but Itachi shook his head. "We don't discuss those in public."

Interesting.

* * *

When Itachi-kun returned much later that evening, Hiruzen had just barely managed to restrain his impatience. The boy bowed before kneeling on the tatami mats. He seemed calm despite the curiosity he was certainly feeling. Itachi had been running very standard jounin missions for a while now. The assistant position had been short term, as promised, but Hiruzen had dragged him back three days ago.

"Itachi-kun, I'm sure you have long known about the Kyuubi and your clan's supposed ability to control it."

The boy nodded, his face remarkably blank given how sore a topic this had been for the Uchiha for over twelve years. This was why the boy would go far. He thought before he dove into something stupid. That was what a good Hokage needed: the ability to pause, listen, and think before reacting.

"I have a job for you that requires something a little different."

* * *

**AN:**

Okay, Hinata. I'm not going to explain much, because it's not all that important to the overarching plot of the story save that what happened to her triggered the continued war with Kumo, but suffice it to say if you took everything Itachi said about Hinata at face value, then you are placing way too much trust in what the characters are saying. He's reporting gossip. We don't even know if he has access to the truth, being a "traitorous Uchiha" even with Hinata on the same team as his little brother. If he does know the truth because Sasuke shared it with him without permission, would he tell Tenzou, an agent freshly back in the city with no obvious clearance from the Hokage to know the truth? If you were really on the ball, you might have noticed that Sasuke slapping the table is a bit extreme: he's warning Itachi to keep his mouth shut about whatever truth he might know.

If you would like a detailed explanation of what is really going on with Hinata, then feel free to send me a PM. I won't be going into detail about it in this story in the foreseeable future.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: If you missed seeing my note in the last chapter in regards to Hinata's situation and that was a concern for you, I suggest you go back and look at the bottom of the chapter.

As a general warning to all readers, please don't take everything a character says as fact. Even their thoughts may be lies or half truths. I like unreliable narrators as they make it harder to guess where a story is going. Figuring things out is what I love most about reading. If I can guess how a plot line is going to turn out within two chapters, what the heck would I keep reading for? So, I'm going to be subtle (or try to be). I'm not going to state things so you'll see the hints right away, but if something isn't adding up, likely there's a good reason it isn't.

Have fun. Trust no one.

* * *

Jiraiya had a disgusting notion of how travel was supposed to work, but it was damn convenient, Katsuo conceded after wriggling out of another toad's throat and feeling how much cooler it was hundreds of kilometres north of their previous location. East Port was very far north of the little village on Fire's border with Tea Country and even farther than South Port, which was nowhere near as tropical as that little village had been.

The purpose of their stop in the little village had been to give Katsuo an opportunity to perfect his personality and mannerisms as Katsuo, as well as improve upon the reality of his cover, from the feel of his hair to the subtle variations in skin tone between the top of his fingers and the sides. A fair few of the people in the border village had the same ethnic background Katsuo did, and the remoteness of the village apparently made it a good place to study before leaving a false trail into Tea Country.

They were in East Port, or what little of it that remained, for some woman called Tsunade. To be specific, they were here for her necklace.

He wasn't convinced that this wasn't a silly quest. He couldn't see how some stupid blue crystal worn by some dead guy and passed along to his descendants was going to help them. Jiraiya had explained it again and again, but how a necklace was going to help contain this invisible fox supposedly stuck in him, Naruto was not getting.

However, Jiraiya had promised to tell him where Mom was hiding if he cooperated.

For that info, Yuji, no… Naruto… ahem, Katsuo could play the sweet little boy wheedling a treat out of this old lady who had apparently been one of Jiraiya-jijii's teammates.

So Katsuo trailed obediently after Jiraiya as he wandered through the derelict sections of East Port where the remaining gangs had set up a splendid underground with some of the most extensive gambling facilities in Fire. Cock fights, dog races, slot machines, card games, horse racing—if you could bet on it, it was likely that it could be found in this district. This was apparently just the sort of environment a sweet old granny lady thrived in, though Jiraiya-jijii had worryingly described her as "very strong, with a short temper… and maybe bitter?"

Katsuo was desperately hoping that his sweet old granny image won the battle for reality.

They worked their way through a couple dingy establishments, Jiraiya pulling out a photo of a young blond woman to coax remembrances.

"Is that from when she was twenty or something?" Katsuo asked after the third person had shaken his head and shrugged helplessly. "Wouldn't she look really different now?"

"Nah. She's pretty vain. Being the best medic ninja in the Five Nations, she has more than enough skill to regress her appearance to her twenties. She hates looking old. If I was a psychologist, I might go on about how the way she clings to the age when she was the most damaged is telling and that sort of shit, but I'll leave that to Konoha's quacks, not that any of them have had a chance to actually talk to her in more than ten years."

Katsuo was beginning to get nervous. Instead of dwelling on this unease, he turned his attention to the prevalent use of concrete as a building material. "How old is East Port?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I thought concrete was hard to do now. Dad said something about mixer trucks or something."

"Hmm, yeah, yet another thing we'd lost to the ninja age. You ever heard of gas and the combustion engine?"

"Uh… Maybe in South Port? They had noisy boats there."

Jiraiya glanced back at him and quirked a corner of his lips up. "Yeah, that sounds right. It's a little off the beaten track for normal conversation in a little traditional fishing village on a cliff. A motor boat, sure—the rich like to show off in them— but you wouldn't have seen a car in South Port. Their streets weren't built to the old code, so any vehicles that by some miracle have survived aren't permitted within city limits."

Jiraiya seemed to know a lot of useless stuff. "Is this going anywhere?"

"Geez, brat, patience. I'm trying to give you some history. Oh, hang on." And the man was off again to flap his photo in someone's face. Amazingly, this person actually nodded thoughtfully after squinting at the photo.

"Yeah, I saw her. She got fleeced clean at a dice parlour up in the north end. The Grey Mats. It's one of the best ones: good reputation for playing fair and ensuring the dice aren't weighted or any of that shit. No luck at all, that one. The Fins and the Yazir both loaned her cash, apparently, so she skipped town a couple days ago, running out on her debts when their first goons went out to try to collect on her. Those guys haven't gotten out of the hospital yet."

"Any word on where she was headed?"

The bloke shrugged. "Far away from here, I guess. Somewhere the Yazir and the Fins don't have friends, though she wasn't too worried about them from what I heard. Sorry, can't help much more than that."

"Thanks for your time."

"No problem, old man. Good luck finding her."

Sighing, Jiraiya turned back to Katsuo.

"Well, that sucks. Where to next, old man?"

"Such an impudent brat. You're nothing like either of your dads."

Katsuo just stuck out his tongue.

* * *

This was so typical of Tsunade. Borrow money (often using ninja honour she didn't have as a lending point), gamble and inevitably lose it, repeat until thugs come to collect, smear said thugs into the pavement, and skip town.

Repeat ad nauseam.

Poor Shizune. That girl… No, she was a grown woman now. Either way, she had been dealing with her master's habits for well over a decade now. How Dan's niece had managed to become a functional adult with good morals was beyond Jiraiya given what she was exposed to, but the miracle was proof that there were gods out there, or that Dan and his sister and brother-in-law had managed to pound the lessons so deeply into Shizune's skull that not even Tsunade could pry them loose.

Jiraiya was grateful. He was hoping that Shizune would help them.

But all this was dependent on his coming up with a good direction to continue the search in.

Naruto curled up tighter under his covers and resumed his deep, even breathing. His hand was swathed in bandages from chakra burns. He had finally mastered the second step of Rasengan this evening, shredding the rubber ball. The bag of balls had been replaced with a couple bags of balloons. It had been hard to convince the kid to learn Rasengan. Naruto had gotten over his shock during their stay in that little village and was now well and truly pissed off with how the undercover mission had ended and did not want to understand why it had been necessary.

In short, he was acting like a boy that had just become a teenager: convinced he was right, the world had wronged him, and the world owed it to him to make things right again. Jiraiya had forgotten how annoying that phase was, though Minato hadn't really gone through it—that boy had been so self contained and sunny. If only his son had inherited that.

The boy had listened with enthusiasm to the story about Minato creating Rasengan though. He had started showing interest in his real parents as Jiraiya and Takashi had begun teaching him about ninja and politics when he had turned eight, but Jiraiya had always felt that at least some of the interest was an act to keep Jiraiya's disappointment at bay. Since leaving South Port, Jiraiya felt that more of the enthusiasm was real.

He decided that for tonight the kid could be spared a watch as he dug through his pack and unfolded his very large and detailed map of Fire. He quickly pinpointed their location in East Port and traced the various routes his quarry could have taken again. North took her to some small fishing villages and lighthouses (only one in ten of them were actually still functioning given how one in twelve of the marked villages were ghost towns). Jiraiya explored routes more inland until one struck towards Otafuku Gai. She would never take that route. It took her too close to Konoha. However, a little farther south, a route would take her to the capital, the Red City. Well, it wasn't actually the real capital, but it was the centre of everything in Fire. The Daimyo's palace was a little northwest on a peninsula jutting into Sacred Lake.

The Red City had some very good gambling. It also was a place Tsunade hadn't visited for five years, so her reputation in the city might have died down enough that she would be able to schmooze herself a line of credit or two or three. Yeah, definitely an option.

He traced out the other routes just to be sure. It would be the height of irony if she managed to skip herself so far southwest that she ended up in South Port. Talk about crossing paths.

* * *

Eiko had found that she really didn't like sitting on the bucking seat beside the carter as every bump, dip, and rock in the road made sure to announce their presence to her seat bones like those infatuated boy-men that had been hard to shake off sometimes. Besides, sitting all day was not going to maintain her figure.

Instead, she had ended up walking alongside the cart at a good clip to keep up with the pace the mule was kept to. Since drinking in the scenery of the roadside was only good for so long, she had filled her time by chattering at the carter, who had turned out to be a little clumsy in the common tongue. At first, she had recited all the poetry she had memorized during her training and career to please her customers and anyone else at whatever function she had been brought to brighten up. He had missed the meaning of many of them, but he had seemed content to listen quietly on the occasions that she would retrieve her biwa and strum it in order to add to the effect or/and take advantage of the sometimes sumptuous acoustics of the terrain they had passed through.

When eventually she had grown bored with this game (it hadn't taken more than three days), she had begun probing him for his backstory. He had been shy about it, perhaps an illegal immigrant, not that the Daimyo was all that effective at enforcing his border policies. Eventually, she had managed to fluster him enough that he had jabbered a couple embarrassed sentences in his native tongue. It was a choppy language with a different sentence structure if his rough literal translations were correct. Glad for a new game, she had made him name everything and anything in his native tongue and correct her pronunciation until she had it right. Over time, she had pestered him into giving her verbs and pronouns and other bits and pieces of speech.

Her first attempts at sentences made him laugh.

"You say… Hah! You say, 'The hill is erect.'"

"Did I?" she asked with an easy smile. "I am sorry. It would be… Hmm. 'Крутой'?"

He nodded, and she resumed mangling his language determinedly.

He had a very familiar laugh when startled into free amusement, but she couldn't say where she had heard it before. She would just have to make him laugh until the pleasant tingly feeling in her brain resolved itself into a memory.

* * *

This time Jiraiya-jijii made them travel on foot. The old man wanted to flash his photo at people on the road to confirm that they were going the right way.

Katsuo pulled on the jean jacket he had acquired in East Port and buttoned it up to the collar. It was late October, which was apparently quite a bit chillier here than in his old village. Maybe it had something to do with the altitude. They had to cross quite a few mountain ranges to get to the Red City from East Port.

"Come on, brat, we haven't got all day to get out on the road."

"Yeah, coming!" Katsuo slung his pack over his shoulders and slipped on his sandals. Once they cleared the limits of the little roadside village, he set to complaining. "Geez, do we really need this Tsunade woman's necklace? Don't you trust the seal my blood dad made?"

"It's not about trusting, brat. We trusted in the seal on Mito-sama and your mother. There was just a weak moment."

"I'm not a girl, so there's no way I can have a baby. There's no way the seal on me is going to weaken."

"This isn't the same seal used on your mother. It's something your father came up with, a blend of what she taught him and what he extrapolated on his own. We have no idea how it's going to handle the fox long term. That's another reason why we had to get you out of the village and why Takashi-kun had two methods of contacting Sarutobi-sensei immediately. If something had happened to weaken your seal, with Tenzou and Takashi watching, it would have been noticed quickly and I could have been called in to use the key to strengthen it or a seal master could have been brought to you immediately."

Katsuo kicked a pebble off the hard-packed dirt road, and it bounced obligingly out of the rut left by carts and wagons before landing in the scrubby undergrowth that grew in the woods to either side of the road. "That sounds like a sucky deal for my village and South Port. Who's to say you would've gotten there fast enough to save the people there?"

"That's why Takashi-kun chose that small fishing village, probably. That twisty mountain pass between it and South Port might have slowed the Kyuubi down, confined him to your valley for enough time."

"Why not just send me to you if you've got the key that could fix me if anything happened?"

Jiraiya-jijii grimaced. "Kid, I'm a spy for Konoha. I go all sorts of places that you can't take a baby or a young kid, especially when I was trying to hunt down the bastards behind what happened to your parents. Besides, what sort of life would that have been for you? No, it was better to have you grow up down in that little village. You had a chance to learn how to be kind, to make friends, and to taste a normal life. We wanted that for you."

"Thanks for ripping it all away." Katsuo glared at the roadside.

"Kid, I was supposed to take you when you were five. I left you there for just about eight more years."

"And you couldn't have just left me there forever?"

The old man stopped short. "Don't be selfish. Takashi has something of a life in Konoha. Tenzou does as well. And what about your mom? Didn't she have other dreams? Was the whole world supposed to be put on hold so you could play cabin boy down on the Kinuzu Sea?"

Katsuo clenched his fists. "You could have left me with Mom! She promised me that she would have taken me wherever she went. I would have helped her be a geisha or whatever she wanted."

"Your dad left the fox for you for a reason. We were hoping that Takashi would raise you to be responsible enough to follow through."

"Well sucks to be you. I'm not interested in being one of your ninja. I'll help you get this necklace from the Tsunade woman and then you're keeping your promise and telling me where my mom is hiding. Got that, old man?"

Jiraiya arched a bushy white eyebrow at him, a deadly serious look on his face. "We'll see, brat. Get walking. We've got a long way to go."

* * *

The Red City was as pretentious as Jiraiya remembered.

Skyscrapers. Of all the dumb things man had invented that had been rediscovered after the dark ages before the creation of the Five Nations, glass skyscrapers had to be chief. Now, the Red City was not placed as far south as it could have been, where the worst earthquakes seemed to pop up, but still, this was pretty dumb. Shortly before the war with Earth over who was top dog economically (which had morphed into the Third Shinobi War) had ended, they had been constructed as a showy representation of Fire's prosperity. If a whopper hit the city, any pedestrians would be sliced to ribbons.

Jiraiya gave the glass monstrosities a wide berth.

Naruto gave him funny looks but did the same.

Fire's big banks and investment firms were welcome to take up multiple floors in them as far as Jiraiya was concerned.

He pulled out his picture of Tsunade and, after re-familiarizing himself with the districts where most of the gambling parlours were, began stopping people again. The first four areas were duds, so he and Naruto decided to hit a kebab joint for lunch before starting in on the fifth district. The smell of roasting lamb from the shop had been unbearable.

Greasy kebabs wrapped in tin foil in hand, he and Naruto ambled back out onto the street only for Jiraiya to stop dead.

It wasn't fair that she was more beautiful than he remembered while her aura was the ugliest he had ever seen it. He rewrapped his kebab quickly and put it in Naruto's hands.

"Tsunade. Shizune."

Both women paused and turned to him.

"Ah! Jiraiya-sama!" Tsunade's apprentice quickly bowed, the pig in her arms protesting being squished by the motion.

Tsunade cocked her head at him with a sneer and nodded slightly. "Jiraiya."

He let her rudeness slide off his back. Considering the amount of pestering Sarutobi-sensei had been subjecting her to, it wasn't surprising. "It's been a long time since I've had time to track you down and catch up. Where are you headed?"

Shizune looked miserable at the angry tension between them until she spotted Naruto behind him. "Who's that?"

"Katsuo-kun. My current apprentice. Tsunade?"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "What could you possibly have to say that the geezer hasn't already written ten times over?"

"You'll have to tell me what he's said first. I'm here on the kid's behalf, not his."

"On Katsuo-kun's behalf?" Shizune peered at the boy, who snorted.

"Are we moving this inside any time soon? We're not nearly as entertaining as the street dances, but we're attracting as much attention," said Naruto, glancing scornfully at those watching the confrontation, some of whom glanced away guiltily.

"This kid sure has a mouth on him," said Tsunade, eyeing the boy. "Not at all like your last apprentice."

Jiraiya shrugged. "He's not a happy camper. He's right though. Where were you headed?"

That sneer again. "There's a good bar a couple streets over. They've got some rare stuff. Clean. Private. I was hoping it was private enough that I wouldn't run into any old acquaintances, so I guess you got lucky."

"Indeed we did. Lead on." Jiraiya made a gallant gesture that they continue in the direction the ladies had been walking before and fell into step beside Tsunade while Naruto held up the rear with Shizune, who kept studying him curiously.

* * *

The bar was private all right. Little booths everywhere with high partitions and sound-muffling curtains. Katsuo wasn't very worldly, but he could see that this bar would be an awesome location for holding secret meetings like the one they were currently in the midst of. The old man looked torn between being nauseatingly happy and depressed at being in the bitchy lady's presence, but he hid it after a while behind an I-mean-business mask that Katsuo had seen a lot of in the past couple weeks.

The lady was pale, blond, but nearly had brown eyes like a normal person. Katsuo was relieved at that mercy. The younger Shizune lady, who Jiraiya-jijii had told him would probably be around and was the Tsunade lady's apprentice and attendant, was also normal looking, with pale skin, black hair, and dark eyes. Katsuo, with his deep bronze skin and green-brown eyes, felt shifty as the oddest looking person there after Jiraiya.

The two old teammates were discussing whatever their "geezer sensei" had talked to Tsunade about before. Apparently, he had wanted her to return to the village and get her bad habits under control before the Daimyo got sick of turning a blind eye to her exploits and marked her as a missing ninja.

"He's got no right," Tsunade was snarling, a sake dish in her hand. "After all I sacrificed! After all my family did! If I want to gamble away my family's fortune, that should be my choice. It's not like the sharks I borrow from are legal."

Jiraiya shook his head. "Some of them are, if only partly. But I heard that you've succeeded."

"What?"

"I heard that you've currently bottomed out your family's funds. That's why the geezer's throwing a fit. The banks have come knocking on his door because they can't find you. What are you using as collateral these days anyway?"

Shizune looked uncomfortable.

Tsunade waved her hand carelessly as she took a sip from her dish. "This and that. Mother and grandmother left me plenty of useless jewelry. Father and grandfather liked spoiling them. Basically anything that was Senju's is now mine. There were a couple pieces of property in the west that I sold off about six years ago."

"And there's nothing left."

"I'm sure there's something," said Tsunade. "This is the mighty Senju we're talking about. I could sell off some jutsu or something, I'm sure."

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune looked aghast. "Some of those are forbidden. All of them are dear village secrets!"

"Pfft! They'll hold me until I qualify for my pension."

Katsuo figured that the old man looked disgusted, though it was mingled with pity and anger. Jiraiya shook his head. "Tsunade, you'll only qualify for your pension if you're still alive to claim it. The way you're going, I wouldn't place a bet on it."

"You had better not, Jiraiya. I'm the gambler at this table."

"With shit for luck."

"Not always," she said, but she looked haunted. "I won a jackpot right before…" She hastily took another sip.

Rolling his eyes at all this nonsense, Katsuo dug into his second kebab before pushing Jiraiya-jijii's towards him.

"Thanks, kid," he said, ruffling Katsuo's hair and digging back into his lunch. "Tsunade, I'm not here to force you to go home. That's someone else's problem. I'm here for the necklace."

Tsunade glared. "What's Grandfather's necklace to you? The geezer was asking for it too."

"For him." Jiraiya pointed his thumb at Katsuo.

"What." She didn't look amused.

"He's Kushina's successor."

The bitter hag inspected him more closely now. "Genjutsu and henge?"

The old man nodded.

"I thought Kyuubi was dead."

"Geezer witnessed Kushina and Minato sealing him into their baby before they died. No, they didn't kill the damn fox."

Tsunade kept her eyes on Katsuo. "Interesting. And what do you make of their generosity, boy?"

Katsuo sneered now. "Great birthday gift, but at least it's the reason I got to live with Mom, Dad, and Seiichi. I don't get why everyone's so freaked out about this fox; he's never bothered me other than supposedly being terrified of the ocean. Made going out on the schooners a little uncomfortable."

Tsunade glanced at Jiraiya.

"He was raised outside the village secretly. The geezer suspects traitors and didn't want the kid caught up in it."

"And he doesn't suspect me despite his complaining?" asked Tsunade archly.

"I'm trusting you. And Shizune."

The younger woman nodded solemnly.

Tsunade gave Jiraiya a half smile. "Well thank you for the show of confidence, old friend. But I still don't see why my grandfather's necklace needs to go around that boy's neck."

Jiraiya gave the same explanation he'd given Katsuo on the road, but this time he mentioned Seiichi… ahem, Tenzou. "He's very much like your grandfather."

"Damn Orochimaru," Tsunade hissed. "Fucking creep. How dare he desecrate my grandfather's remains."

"That's not the worst thing he's done. If you're not going to go back, stay well away, maybe in the south or go back east."

Tsunade shot Jiraiya a look while Shizune stared, eyes wide and fearful.

"What is our lovely former teammate up to this time?"

"He's been in contact with Suna. You know how they've been watching the conflict with Kumo like hawks. What with the cuts the Wind Lord has made to Suna's budget, they're pretty desperate. Maybe desperate enough to do something stupid like attack our back."

"To increase their rep?" asked Tsunade.

"Who knows. But what other way is there, these days? They were bandying that gladiator-style Chuunin Exam idea around during the initial peace talks with Kumo, but the Hyuuga Fiasco scrapped that quick. Orochimaru might have made Suna some pretty promises. He's set up bases somewhere north. I haven't managed to pinpoint them. But given the witness reports I've been gathering, he's been collecting followers from various slums. The weak, the desperate, his usual targets."

"Lovely. The geezer should have killed him when he had the chance. You should have—"

Jiraiya looked away. "Stop it."

Katsuo arched an eyebrow at this further drama. So this Orochimaru was a traitor and apparently had something to do with Seiichi-nii.

"Still hoping to reform him, I see."

Jiraiya shook his head. "I'm a fool, but I'm not that foolish. It's too late. After everything he's done, no."

Katsuo, having finished his second kebab, crumpled the tinfoil into a ball and began to roll it around the table. "Can we hurry this up? He promised to tell me where they hid my mom after I put on the necklace like a good little boy."

Tsunade glared at him for the first time before shooting a look at Jiraiya. "His mother?"

"They recruited a woman to nurse him. She stayed on until the end. They were very close."

"Interesting." She turned back to Katsuo. "Boy, I don't think you want to wear this thing." She held up the blue crystal that had been hanging in her considerable cleavage by the black string. "I've given this to two people. Both of them died shortly afterwards."

"Oh! That's why he said it was cursed! Well, that sucks." Katsuo turned to the old man. "Do I have to wear it? I want to see my mom, not die during my search for her." He scowled when Jiraiya refused to budge.

Tsunade looked slightly amused. "You're safe, brat. I'm not handing this over."

Katsuo narrowed his eyes. "The geezer here said he wouldn't tell me anything until I've got that thing banging against my collarbone. Hand it over or tell me how I'm going to convince you."

Tsunade just shook her head.

Katsuo frowned at her. "You mean to tell me I sat here, quietly listening to how you've run your family into the ground, for nothing? Is that what you're telling me, hag?"

Shizune gasped and glared.

Tsunade smirked. "Sorry to waste your time."

Katsuo copied his mom's favourite move (generally done behind people's backs, but he wasn't feeling that gracious).

Jiraiya groaned.

* * *

Talks had broken down. Jiraiya couldn't believe how lippy the kid had gotten. He had been a sweet boy, eager to please, a fairly smooth talker, a sap. Since South Port, he had progressively begun exhibiting behaviour Jiraiya assumed Mae-san had displayed at her worst. Perhaps it wasn't a fair assumption, but Takashi-kun was cold and not prone to losing control by being crass. Tenzou-kun was too controlled, too much like Takashi. Besides, Jiraiya had seen Mae-san lose her temper a couple times.

He had tried to salvage the situation, but Tsunade had just gotten bitchier and had shut down completely, paying the bill and heading back outside without responding to anything he had said. Shizune had maintained nervous silence until Tsunade had settled herself in a casino in front of a slot machine with a bucket of quarters. She had then consented to whisper the address of their hotel to him after casting Katsuo a worried glance.

With a deep groan after walking back out into the light of day, Jiraiya glanced at the sky, begging for the patience to deal with his bitch of a teammate. She was worse than he remembered. So much bitterer. Crabbier. Snarkier. He sighed.

So unlovely, but then she had never been a graceful personality. No, always brash and harsh. But she had been sweet with her family.

"What a bitch," Katsuo grumbled. "What now? How are you going to convince her?"

"Me?"

Katsuo scuffed his sandal on the sidewalk. "Yeah, well, I figure she's not going to be interested in talking to me now. I don't know what she wants, but it sure as hell isn't something I can give her. She wasn't moved at all by my sob story. I've got nothing else. Besides, Dad always said it was best to rely on your expert, and that would be you, right, you two being teammates that go way back."

"Guess you're right, kid. But I don't know what I can do with her. She never respected me much."

"Wonder why."

Jiraiya decided to ignore that. He was too exhausted to blow up at the kid for that. "Come on, let's find a hotel near hers."

"Not hers?"

"Best not to meet her in the lobby."

"True that." Katsuo trotted obediently in his wake.

* * *

Katsuo waited one more day before deciding that his local expert was getting nowhere. Jiraiya had cornered Tsunade when she had left her post at the casino to get lunch and had failed to get her to say two words to him. Katsuo had then played unwilling witness to a repeat performance during dinner, where he had seen that money was not going to serve as a sufficient bribe. Apparently, she felt it was her sacred duty to keep the cursed necklace from killing anyone else. That was cool, Katsuo figured, but not exactly helpful. Intriguing that the necklace wasn't interested in offing her too. He wondered what the conditions of the curse were.

In any case, Katsuo decided that it was time to stop being stubborn and talk to Genie-san, even if he was the asshole Hokage that had torn his family apart. He pulled out Seiichi-nii's journal when Jiraiya was in the shower and settled onto his messy bed. Brush in hand, Katsuo wrote the proper opening phrase and then considered what he should write. He settled for the truth.

_Hey Genie-san, Hokage, or whatever I should call you now,_

_Me and Jiraiya-jijii are in a bit of a bind out here in the Red City (where the gambling woman is currently going through quarters like there's no tomorrow). See, she's not interested in handing over that necklace you want me to string around my neck so much (thanks for being so confident that the curse won't affect me). Negotiations have currently broken down completely. Her attendant has promised to try to keep her from skipping town, but she's pretty antsy to get away from me and the old man._

_Little help here?_

* * *

Hiruzen glanced over the message Naruto-kun had left in the journal for him and smiled. He was glad the boy had contacted him after so long despite how much resentment came through in the words. Wiping the entry with the correct phrase, Hiruzen quickly wrote the starting tag and his own message.

_I'm sending you help, Naruto-kun, never fear. Your brother will be coming along with a ninja named Uchiha Itachi. Itachi-kun has a mission he needs your help to complete, so please cooperate with him. He's trying to help you. He is a smart young man, so between you, Jiraiya, your brother, and him, I'm sure you will find a way to convince Tsunade to part with her necklace. Though I am sorry that Tsunade is proving so resistant, I am glad you are having the opportunity to visit places like the Red City._

_Please tell me where you are staying as soon as you get this so I can send the two to you._

_I am doing what I can to make it possible for your mother to come out of hiding. That is part of Itachi's mission with you as well._

_Good luck, and you would call me Sarutobi or Hokage. As you are not a registered ninja, which you use is up to you since I am not your Hokage. We can fix the lack of registration when you next come to Konoha. With official registration, we can better protect you in any legal messes you find yourself in with Jiraiya._

The message disappeared after the closing phrase was brushed onto the page. Sealing the journal away, Hiruzen called for his assistant. "Call in Tiger–19 and Uchiha Itachi for a preliminary briefing."


	7. Chapter 7

Itachi walked the last leg of the road to the Red City beside Tenzou, who had been directed to keep a low profile during this mission by wearing a henge/genjutsu combination. Itachi had been allowed to go as he was, the mission scrolls snug in his flak vest pockets. Well, a couple of them. His mission to retrieve Tsunade-sama was open. However, his mission to work with someone named Katsuo was top secret, though he was permitted to report some of his findings to his mother to aid in her search for the person behind Kyuubi's attack so long as he was circumspect about it. His mission to help Katsuo and Jiraiya-sama retrieve a necklace from Tsunade-sama was not top secret, but it wasn't official. It had made Itachi arch an eyebrow when Hokage-sama had given that mission to him, though it was primarily for Tenzou to deal with. Something about synchronizing.

Itachi knew how to read Hokage-sama's expressions well enough to know that he wasn't supposed to ask about that.

In any case, he was fairly certain that Tsunade-sama was being brought back to Konoha for a reason beyond being hired on as a consultant for the medical ninja program. The heir to Senju was a likely candidate for Hokage, as was Hatake Kakashi, since both were part of the chain of sensei and student that ran from the Shodaime to the Yondaime. Hatake Kakashi was not an immediate option, given how he was still quite young, but Tsunade was. It all depended on how impatient Sarutobi-sama was to return to retirement.

"So," said Tenzou-san out of the blue, his eyes fixed on the skyscrapers lancing out above the forest separating them from the Red City, "you're deep in Admin."

"Somewhat," Itachi admitted.

"Gossip says that you're considered a candidate for Hokage despite how unpopular your clan is. Well, not yet. You're too young right now."

"Yes."

Tenzou shot him a look. "It makes them nervous."

"ANBU?"

Tenzou nodded.

"It would. They've been watching my clan for a long time, waiting for us to prove ourselves traitors."

"Hmm."

Itachi could tell that Tenzou had resisted asking him if it was true. Not that he would have answered; he wouldn't betray his clan so openly, not when his father's plans were going nowhere currently. Shisui had promised to keep an eye on things while he was away. Mother was against it as well, if passively, so Itachi was fairly confident he would be able to return to the village and not find it in smoking ruins.

Once they hit the first road within city limits, Itachi took the lead, glancing at street signs and guiding them to the correct district. Tenzou followed without protest until they reached the hotel. Itachi hung back then, content to let the more personable ANBU agent handle the receptionist as he inspected the lobby.

"Oh yes, they booked you the room next door, and we were told they were expecting you today or tomorrow," the receptionist said after consulting a day planner. "Just let me phone ahead for you." She held a quick telephone conversation before turning back to Tenzou with a smile. "Feel free to head up to room 208. They are in." She handed over a key to room 207. "Please enjoy your stay."

They both nodded their thanks to her as Tenzou pocketed the key. They scaled the stairs and found a boy sticking his head out the door down the hallway. "I don't recognize either of them," the boy said to someone in the room.

"Ask them for the password." Itachi recognized Jiraiya-sama's voice and relaxed. The Toad Hermit had not been in Konoha often, but Itachi had played the mute and deaf assistant during a couple meetings between him and the Hokage.

"Password!" the boy called to them, scowling.

"Mae," said Tenzou. "It's good to see you, Katsuo."

The boy's scowl broke into a grin. "Nice to see you too." He let them in with a flourish. Once the door was closed, he wrapped his arms around Tenzou, whispering "Seiichi-nii" into his side.

Tenzou ruffled his hair with a slight smile. "You're very silly, Katsuo. I'm Tenzou right now."

"Sure you are. Any word from Dad?"

Tenzou shook his head. "He has actually not arrived in Konoha yet. Hokage-sama doesn't seem worried about him, so he must have sent word about the reason for delay. He may be back when I return."

Itachi turned to Jiraiya-sama and bowed, Tenzou belatedly following his lead. "Thank you for receiving us."

"You're here to sweetly woo my bitter teammate. You need all the help you can get. She's not in a good mood." Jiraiya-sama lounged on his bed, reading through a thick sheaf of papers.

"That is not all. I am to return her to Konoha."

The old jounin whistled. "Good luck with that."

Itachi smiled wryly. "Yes, I figured it wouldn't be easy. With your permission, I would like to get my mission with Katsuo-kun going."

Jiraiya-sama arched an eyebrow. "And that would be?"

Itachi glanced at Tenzou, who ran through a couple handseals, soundproofing the room. Itachi then handed over his mission scroll for the Toad Hermit's approval. "Hokage-sama has had me training under Inoichi-san, Ibiki-san, and my mother. Shisui also worked with me. I am supposed to interrogate the Kyuubi."

"He really does trust you."

"I am grateful to receive such trust. I hope my efforts reward the Hokage for it. It eases things for my clan."

The old jounin gave him a long look before nodding. "Katsuo, you'd better cooperate with Itachi-kun."

"Got it." The boy turned to him. "What do you need me to do?"

"We should both sit down," said Itachi. "I don't know how long this will take. Also, it would be best if you did not antagonize the Kyuubi as you will be the one to live with him. We are going to utilize the powers of my eyes to enter your mind and speak with him in person. You will play host. If you welcome me in, I would appreciate it, but it is not necessary."

"Why would you want me to welcome you then?"

"It would make it easier for me to remain present without using too much chakra. It just means that you are not resisting my intrusion in your mind."

"You promise to not break anything in there?" asked Katsuo, arching an eyebrow.

"I am there to interrogate the Kyuubi only. I swear it."

The boy frowned at him. "That's not the same thing."

"I cannot make promises like that until I am certain about the extent of Kyuubi's influence on your mind. If he can exert some control on it and make it attack me, then my promise will leave me vulnerable. I have other missions to complete here, so I need to be able to defend myself. I will promise to mind your safety to the best of my ability."

Grumbling, Katsuo nodded and sat down on his bed. With his permission, Itachi sat down as well.

"Good luck," Tenzou said as Itachi activated his eyes and met Katsuo's, projecting himself within.

* * *

It was dark.

And wet.

Disgusting.

Naruto lifted one sandalled foot out of the foot-deep scummy water that covered the concrete floor in the vaulted-ceilinged basement that was apparently his mind and grimaced. He spun when he heard sloshing beside him.

Itachi walked over to his side. "You bear considerable resemblance to Yondaime-sama. Your henge is very complete."

Naruto glanced at his pale, pinkish skin, which looked just as unnatural as always, and hung his head. "Damn, I guess it doesn't carry inside?"

"No. Not unless you change the way you see yourself."

"Well, I'm Yuji." He watched with satisfaction as his skin darkened immediately to a tone closer to his mom's than his dad's.

Itachi arched a dark eyebrow. "A large change."

"Meh, this is the identity I've had the longest. I never really was that other person."

Itachi shrugged. "If you say so. Where would the Kyuubi be?"

It was Yuji's turn to shrug. "Heck if I know. I've never been here either."

"Do you feel anything though? Malice? Heat? Kyuubi tends to radiate those."

Yuji closed his eyes to focus before slowly extending a hand in each direction. Something said to the left. "That way." He sloshed off, the jounin following in his wake.

The hallway was just as dim as the chamber they had left, if with a slightly lower ceiling covered in leaking metal pipes. Images swam in the scummy water, ones that Yuji recognized. His village. His home. His family. Little moments he had forgotten about.

Suddenly protective of his old life, Yuji turned to Itachi. "Keep your eyes off the water."

The jounin nodded.

The hallway twisted and branched a couple times. Each time, Yuji would stop and listen and feel. Sometimes, it was a growl that led him down one branch over the other. Other times, it was warmth on his palm. Once, it was a chill from rage directed at him.

"We're nearly there, I think. See how there's more light ahead?"

Yuji saw alright. The passage gave way at last to a huge chamber. The ceiling was lost in the gloom despite the glow emanating from the gigantic fox curled up behind barred gates that were also lost in the shadows high above. A paper seal kept the gates shut. "Wow. That is the biggest frigging fox I've ever seen." He glanced back at the red-eyed jounin to find him frowning.

"He should be bigger."

"Huh?"

"When he attacked Konoha, he was bigger. I've heard countless stories. He was four times the height of Konoha's wall, at least according to numerous witnesses. He's only twice as tall here, if that."

Yuji arched an eyebrow. "Okay, you're freaking me out. How does he even fit in me?"

An almighty crash startled them both; the fox had beaten the gate bars with his tails and they were still a vibrating blur. **"Both of you, shut up. Hiding in the tunnel like vermin, bah!"**

Both humans peered at the fox, who was regarding them with a slitted red eye. "It talks," Yuji whispered.

"Of course he does," said Itachi, leading the way to stand before the barred gates. "This is a bijuu, one of the Nine. They are worshipped as gods by some cults."

Kyuubi snorted. **"Everyone used to worship us. As if we have time to listen to their petty prayers. We have better things to do."**

"Like what?" asked Yuji.

Kyuubi didn't deign to respond.

He rolled his eyes and snorted. "Yeah, obviously you've got loads of irons in the fire. Very busy fox, you are."

Itachi put a hand on his shoulder, and he remembered that he had been warned to be polite.

After grumbling under his breath, Yuji swallowed his dignity. "Sorry, I'm sure you'd be very busy if you weren't stuck in me."

**"I would be, puny mortal. Unlike you, I have important work to do."** The fox turned his gaze to Itachi. **"You…"**

The jounin bowed stiffly. "Uchiha Itachi."

The fox's eyes narrowed. **"I thought so. Your chakra has the same flavour as his, if not the same feel. Fire. Water in you as well. Interesting. You are politer than he is, in any case. If I didn't hate your entire bloodline so much, I would almost consider not devouring you."**

"I am honoured, Kyuubi no Kitsune-sama."

Yuji arched an eyebrow at the honorific. Hadn't the fox attacked this guy's village?

**"Good. It seems that you haven't come to poke fun at me as Kushina did many times. You are more like Mito, bitch though she was. She showed me proper respect despite how she was the one who started the blasphemy."**

"Mito-sama was a gracious lady, I am told. She would not fail to show you proper honour despite how necessity forced her to enforce captivity upon you. It pained her, I am certain."

Kyuubi grinned. It was the most awful thing Yuji had ever seen. **"Yes, it did. I made certain. Now, enough with this human nonsense. What is your purpose? The brat there has never come before, and he comes with you."**

"You are correct," Itachi said, bowing again.

Yuji was beginning to wonder if Itachi was overdoing it on purpose, as some sort of passive-aggressive way of insulting the fox. Mom had played that game sometimes with a village elder that hadn't liked her.

"Kyuubi-sama, I hope you will deign to answer a few questions for me. We suspect that someone dared to attempt to control you on the night you were sealed into Katsuo… I mean, Yuji-kun here."

**"Naruto."**

Itachi and Yuji blinked. "Pardon?"

**"Kushina and the blond bastard named him Naruto. He is not Katsuo or Yuji however much he would like to pretend to be. His parents called him that even as I killed them."**

So the fox had been the one to actually kill his blood parents. Yuji narrowed his eyes. So the mysterious people the Sandaime, his dad and brother, and Jiraiya had claimed were coming for him and such a threat had not actually murdered them like they had said. He filed that fact away for later. The inconsistency raised his hackles. "My mom calls me Yuji, so that's my name, bastard," he snarled.

Kyuubi ignored him, focused on Itachi.

"That night. Who dared to control you?" asked the Uchiha.

**"What will you do with the knowledge?"** asked the fox.

"Hunt him down."

**"You would take my prey from me? He is mine to kill, you realize."**

Itachi bowed again, and now Yuji was almost positive that it was sincere. "I apologize, but I would presume to kill him before he dares attempt to take your will again."

The beast got to his feet, forcing both humans to look up even more to meet his gaze. **"You would have to do the job twice. One death for this world, one for the world beyond death. Both deaths must be full of suffering before I forgive you for taking my prey from me."**

"It shall be done, Kyuubi-sama."

**"And my freedom?"**

Itachi bowed very deeply this time. "I am not able to promise anything. The seal is not mine to break."

**"Brat, would you promise me freedom?"**

Yuji narrowed his eyes at his occupant. "I never even believed you existed, not really. You were quiet. But they say you weren't out there. What would you do?"

**"Fulfill my purpose, boy. It should not be something I should have to ask permission to do. You humans have dared to interfere…."** The beast subsided into furious snarling incoherency, his aura blazing up so hot that Yuji had to raise his hands to keep it from scorching his face.

Itachi handled the heat better. "Kyuubi-sama, I will do what I can to speak to those who do hold the seal. But I worry more that your enemy will come for you."

**"Silence, Uchiha!"**

Itachi took a step back.

The fox showed off his sharp teeth. **"I know what you are attempting. Do not play your games with me. I will push as I please."** The fox paced his narrow cell. **"I am only half of what I should be, more vulnerable than I was. I killed the Yondaime for that, for playing stupidly with cosmic forces he could not hope to truly understand. Sealing my yin nature—"** Kyuubi shook his head. **"I would have killed him besides. He dared to restrain me while Kushina was weak. He was interrupted though. A familiar chakra, though not exactly the same. It was mingled with another's. Both chakra clashed the last time I breathed free air."**

"Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama."

**"Yes, those two."** The fox started growling again, his nine tails lashing randomly against the walls of his prison. **"Not the same though. Not Madara exactly. Not quite as powerful, though still very strong. He still satisfied the contract that Madara used to tie me to him. Masked. Orange, one eyehole. Swirl design. Sharingan behind that hole. He was able to take my will, so he must have had the strong eyes necessary. I would never bow unless forced by the strongest eyes."**

Itachi dropped to his knees in the disgusting water and pressed his forehead to the its surface. "Thank you for your assistance, Kyuubi-sama."

**"I'm not done yet, boy. Get on your feet."** The Kyuubi sat on his haunches. **"Two deaths. I do not believe that this one and Uchiha Madara are one and the same. Both must die in this world and the next so I do not have to suffer that indignity again. And you shall ensure that none of your blood dares to try to use those eyes upon me again."**

"Eyes, Kyuubi-sama?"

**"Ignorance doesn't become you, boy, and feigned ignorance even less. The eternal eyes."**

One glance at Itachi's face told Yuji that the jounin wasn't entirely sure what Kyuubi was talking about but that he suspected something; if he was acting, he was awesome. "I shall do my best, Kyuubi-sama."

Yuji groaned and put a palm over his eyes. This was definitely passive-aggressive bullshit. There was no way this could not be.

Then, wonder of wonders, Kyuubi snorted and huffed a laugh.

Yuji glanced at the fox between his fingers, and despite the disdain and the teeth and the orange, he was pretty sure that the Kyuubi was calling passive-aggressive bullshit too. They shared a warded look for a brief moment.

_Yup,_ they agreed without the need for nodding, _this Itachi guy definitely can't be sincere._

And suddenly Yuji was okay with the fox. He got the feeling Mom would have been okay with this no-bullshit vulpine too.

And Kyuubi kept playing it. **"And what is your best, Uchiha Itachi? What guarantee can you give me?"**

"The Uchiha clan is not quite as rigidly arranged as it used to be, but I am the heir of the man commonly considered to lead the Uchiha. I have access to the scriptures detailing the Sharingan and its further forms."

The Kyuubi smiled, but it was more a smile fitted to a hungry shark eyeing prey than any possible gentler interpretation. **"So you know about the key of guilt. But I wonder, do you understand it? Uchiha Madara didn't. The Sage worked so hard to create the path as a learning tool, to guide those of your bloodline to the correct path. Madara is all about hatred. You will have a hard time hunting him."** His gaze left the Uchiha ninja and instead focused on the middle distance. **"Yes, interesting. You are dismissed, Uchiha Itachi. I expect results. Soon."**

Itachi bowed again, nodded to Yuji, and faded out of sight.

"How much did you bullshit him?" Yuji asked with a fiendish grin.

The fox settled back on his haunches. **"It will depend upon how he interprets things. The Uchiha like to put the worst spin on everything, being the type to cherish their grudges. And you, Naruto, how much bullshit did you get out of that after all the shit you've swallowed over the years without question?"**

He grinned wider. "Meh, I don't pretend to understand any of that. All I know is that you and I obviously need to be introduced properly if you think my name is Naruto. I don't know if you killed my blood parents or if you were being controlled by the guy you and Itachi were talking about, but you need to know that I'm Yuji. I'm not sure why the heck they thought it was a good plan to shove you in me without consulting either of us, but I figure that we'd better make the best of it given that apparently I die if you get out. What's your name?"

The fox studied him for a long while. **"Your lack of attachment to your birth parents is a little odd. They would be devastated."** He seemed fiendishly pleased by the concept.

Yuji shrugged with a sigh. "I can't say. I didn't know them. You just said you killed them. My own parents turned out to be people on a mission for this old Hokage, and now I'm stuck with my godfather, who is the biggest pervert on the planet and is holding my mom's location over my head. I'm not so hot at judging people right now, so I figure not seriously offending anyone is the best plan, since I already went and did that with the hag. You and I getting along until we can figure out how to get you out or whatever without either of us dying seems reasonable to me."

The fox blinked, his nine tails stilling in the shadows of his jail cell. **"You are interesting. Kurama."**

"Kurama?"

**"My name."**

"Nice to meet you, Kurama. Let's try to make this ride cool while it lasts."

**"And how long will it last, Yuji?"**

"Just until we figure out why the hell they thought it would be best for you to be in me and how to get you out without killing either of us. Since you've apparently got irons to get in the fire and I can't be with my mom while you make me a target, I'd like for that to be as soon as possible and I figure you agree."

Kurama eyed him. **"If you pull the seal off the gate—"**

Yuji shook his head and frowned. "No, Kurama, dude, that's not gonna work. I'm not the brightest, sure, but I can pick up a beat and some new moves in an afternoon. The book genie—I mean, the Hokage briefed me on a couple things over the years. Pulling that seal off means you take over and I die. Not cool."

Kurama smirked, showing off his incisors. **"So you retained that much of your discussions. Interesting. I saw that memory down here, near where you're standing. This is your subconscious, so anything that makes its way here isn't something you consciously know anymore."**

"Memory and the knowledge don't necessarily go hand in hand. I know lots of things that I don't remember learning." Yuji wasn't entirely certain how he felt about having the fox able to view everything he'd forgotten in the pool around his feet. He reluctantly admitted that since he couldn't do anything about it at this point, there was no reason to throw a hissy fit. "Anyway, I'd appreciate it if you didn't equate taking over my body with getting free. I know that my blood mom carried you too, so you've been locked up for a hell of a long time, so I get that you're impatient, but this isn't my fault, okay? I was kind of helpless then. I'd like for us to agree that you manipulating me into dying isn't very nice, please. I'll do my best not to piss off anyone who can help us out."

**"You are going to actively work to separate us? To free me?"**

Yuji blinked at the fox's tone. "Um, yes? Isn't that what we both want?"

Kurama regarded him with narrowed eyes for a time in silence.

Yuji started fidgeting. Still, the fox stared.

And finally, he sort of smiled. **"You are a very unique human, Yuji. Perhaps a fool, but I can hardly complain, given the circumstances. Very well, so long as you continue to work towards our separation and report your progress in person every few days, I will play the good tenant."**

* * *

Eiko frowned at Konoha's imposing yet shabby gates. This was not the pinnacle of military discipline she had expected. Ninja had always struck her as monk-like, ascetic, and precise to the point of surgical.

This mess of weathered paint, peeling paper tags, and random junk did not match the picture at all.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

The general disarray of everything else, like the hair of the two ninja guarding the gate, just added to her distaste. Everyone was shabby. The buildings could all use a paint job and some serious maintenance. City planning had obviously been high on something when designing the power grid.

Even South Port, which was a mess of humanity vomited upon an extinct volcano, even in the slums, was more presentable than this. Matrons in the slums had more pride in their meagre homes than this lot of ninja had in their whole goddamn town.

From the brief unhappy look she had caught upon the carter's face as he watched her, he was distressed by her disappointment.

"It's okay," she said, "I'm hardly going to demand to go somewhere else now that I've finally made it here. Don't worry, you won't be stuck with me and my stuff on the road all over again."

"But you're not impressed."

"No, but perhaps I can charm the right people into fixing things to my liking. I was a geisha, after all. Charming is my nature. Let's find the nearest hotel and a newspaper. Somehow, given the state of things, I doubt their community bulletin board will be up to date or legible. My hopes for the newspaper's proper grammar use and spelling aren't high. Never fear, though, I'll settle quickly if you're in any sort of hurry."

"No hurry," Jakob assured her, but his tension told her otherwise.

She charmed a passerby into giving her the address of a reputable hotel and a place to buy the local paper. Further chatter yielded the location of a collection of telephone poles that were apparently a popular place to stick rent ads. A certain smile got a grinning local man to escort her there to the disgust of his female teammate, who stalked off in a huff while the last squad member tried to soothe her. Jakob had stowed his cart at the hotel and had stabled his mule with her blessing and had decided to follow her as well. He got a couple piercing glances from her local, but men often did that to each other while in her company, so Eiko wasn't alarmed.

"Here you are, ma'am!" The ninja gestured to the post covered in drooping advertisements.

"Any you recommend?" she asked as she scanned them, plucking numbers here and there.

He peered at the adverts for a few moments before pointing at two. "I know both of the landlords. They're good people. Can't say I've seen the places though."

"A landlord's temperament can be just as important as the look of the space," she reassured him as she plucked those numbers as well. "Do you know of any businesses looking for help that I might provide?"

He flushed. "Um…"

Jakob snorted. "Not that sort."

The young local blushed deeper and coughed. "Of course not! No, um, well, the Korean BBQ on Fifth gets busy enough that they've put a help wanted ad in their window. You could apply there? Other than that, I can't really say. It's not something we ninja keep up on."

Eiko arched an eyebrow. "Oh?"

The ninja puffed out his chest slightly. "A ninja is always employed to the best advantage of his village. My team isn't often in the village because the Hokage sends us out so often."

"Ah, because your teammate is chuunin. Of course," said Jakob with a sanctimonious nod. "With her to lead, your team must do well."

For some reason, the young man flushed again. He was more agreeable than most about parting company when Eiko thanked him and made excuses so she could go investigate her housing options.

"What was that about?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at Jakob.

"I ask questions on the way here about ninja. The woman wore a vest, you remember?"

She nodded. Of course she would remember something that tasteless.

"It is a mark of rank, yes? Only those who rank chuunin or higher wear them. He does not and reacted badly to my comment, so he is genin, lowest ranking."

"Oh, so something that ugly is part of the uniform. I see. Poor girl."

Jakob looked a little nonplussed for a moment before he started chuckling. "Are you sure you wish to stay here?"

She nodded firmly. "Something tells me that I need to be here. This is the place that fate has marked."

"If you say so, Kato-san."

* * *

Takashi sat in a booth with Sarutobi-sama, waiting for their order to come out. He felt strange without the constant drain of maintaining a henge and genjutsu hanging over him. Seeing his own face (though it didn't feel like his face) reflected in glass windows as he walked down Konoha's streets was still a shock despite how he had been off duty since yesterday, when Kato Eiko had finally watched Jakob depart from Konoha with illusory cargo in his cart. He had gone all the way to the next town before doubling back and finally reporting in to Sarutobi-sama. The chance that Eiko would sprint after a Jakob that no longer existed haunted him even now, when he had somehow given her his order without stumbling over his words in any way.

Sarutobi-sama was regarding him with amusement. "She frightens you. Tenzou-kun didn't mention that."

Takashi flinched at being so transparent. "I think she remembers, on some level. She kept trying to make me laugh freely. I accidentally did so once without guessing that it would trigger some flash for her."

"Usually, it's smell that erodes the block. Interesting that your laugh would work instead. Did you continue using the same soap the entire time?"

Takashi refrained from shooting his Hokage an indignant look. "My genjutsu skills include manipulation of scent."

The Hokage made a quelling motion with his hand. "I meant no disrespect to your talents. It was just a thought. Have you tested it against the Inuzuka?"

"Dog–94 assured me that occasionally I was able to fool her. Not often, but if I worked hard enough, I could. It required vast amounts of stamina and concentration. For most, switching soap and applying a mild genjutsu mask over it is enough," he admitted grudgingly. "Hiromi's sense of smell was nothing remarkable."

"Then I suppose sound would be logical. Do you feel she remembers enough to warrant intervention?" asked Sarutobi-sama.

Takashi shook his head. "Not yet. She seemed curious, but I didn't see any knowledge…." He noted her returning with a platter. "Thank you for honouring me with a meal, sir. It felt awkward to attempt to approach those I once knew when I realized I wasn't in the mood to make lunch for myself or take it alone."

"It is no trouble, Takashi-kun. Tenzou-kun got reintroduced to Konoha by Uchiha Itachi-kun and his brother. It's only fair that you receive similar assistance." The Hokage smiled benignly at Eiko-san as she deftly set his order in front of him before depositing Takashi's and withdrawing with a slight bow.

Takashi pulled his plate closer and plucked a piece of broccoli with his chopsticks. "Where is Tenzou-kun, by the way? I expected to see him here. I did promise to help him find his own apartment." There was a tug of sorrow from that. The boy had posed as his son for so long that it was odd to think of him "moving out".

The Hokage smiled. "That was good of you. He will need the help. Itachi-kun was helping him gather information about available spaces, but Itachi-kun has no experience in this area. He, as heir apparent, lives in the Uchiha compound. The two of them are out of the village right now. Tsunade has been located, so Tenzou and Itachi went to assist in the Red City."

So Tenzou had already been reunited with Yuji. Takashi forced down jealousy. It was a good thing he and Mae had arrived after Tenzou's departure. Yuji would have found a way to wring the information out of his older brother. They ate uninterrupted until Eiko-san appeared to refill their water glasses and replace their empty pot of tea. Takashi caught her eyeing him in that familiar way, the one where it was obvious she was holding back a question or a confession. It made his blood run cold.

"What do you want me to do now?" he asked the moment she disappeared again.

"I would like you to take a genin team. We have so few jounin to spare from the front lines, stretched thin keeping Kumo at bay while keeping an eye on every other vulture out there. The most important job I have for any ninja is training the next generation."

"How much would I be out of the village?"

Sandaime-sama looked far too knowing. "A fair bit. Genin teams with sensei are handling missions up to B-rank, depending on their experience. You'd only have to bear with D-rank missions for two weeks. If you are really worried, we could have you doing public relations work out of the area. Sentiment towards ninja is currently very negative, so any mission we can get out in civilian villages to improve our image is helpful."

"And what about black work? Do you need someone of my skill set on a long term mission?"

The Hokage sighed. "You know we always do, but the return on investing you elsewhere would take months to appear. I've gotten everyone I can in there already. You've been gone a long time. I've had to do my best without you."

Takashi knew the Hokage was just placating him now. "If you really want me to be a sensei, I will. I would prefer to set out on a five-year mission though."

Sarutobi-sama frowned. "No, I don't think I can let you. You've been away too long. You need time to relearn why you have given your life to Konoha, Takashi-kun. I'll assign you to a new team the moment I have one that will suit you." He glanced at Eiko-san, who was taking a table's order across the room. "I will get you out of her sight though."

"As you wish." Takashi knew his play for nonchalance had fallen flat when he tensed as Eiko-san glanced his way for the ninth time. At least he had managed to get that frown off Hokage-sama's face.


	8. Chapter 8

With Itachi and Seiichi-nii here to take over handling Tsunade-bitch, Jiraiya resumed his bad habits. Mom had told Yuji ages ago that Atsushi-ojisan reminded her of a lot of her clients. Katsuo had thus been unsurprised by the old perv's behaviour in East Port and at towns along the road to the Red City, though he had usually gone out while Katsuo had been struggling with Rasengan training. Despite a run-in with Fuma Dana—a lawyer who took cases for civilians against ninja and part of a "hoity-toity anti-ninja clan" called the Matsuku—at a restaurant where they had been having dinner, Jiraiya went out, though he did wear a henge so he wouldn't be recognized by Dana-san's other clan members. Katsuo, tagging along, was unsurprised when the geezer pranced into a gentleman's club and settled down to be entertained without shame.

Katsuo couldn't work up the irritation he supposed he ought to feel. Instead, he was a little excited. The women here plied the same trade his mother had before. He wanted to see if they were like her.

They all thought he was precious as he quizzed them about what they did all day, what they did for fun when they had time off, and what they wanted to do if they ever got the chance. They were quite diverse. Some were giggly and happy, talking about the amazing parties they had attended and the amazing people they had met on the job. They talked about how they would decorate their dream house and marry a big shot of this or that wonderful bank or other financial institution. They gossiped about how they went shopping with their friends.

"We have it very good," one of the happier girls confided. "The Madam made sure years ago she had an in with the biggest and best companies. She made sure they would always come to us when they need girls for their business meetings. I get paid much better than one of my girlfriends, who studied hard and became a manager at a shipping company. She brags about her bonuses, but… heh." She patted his cheek, grinning. "She doesn't live half as interesting a life as I do."

There were other girls, less happy seeming but more determined to persuade him they were. Their eyes were shadowed. Some of them smoked. Others had a twitchy look. One sniffed white powder through a rolled up ryou note as he hung around with her and some of the other off duty girls in the back room, which his godfather had not been invited into like him.

"Hun, you're going to love the Red City," she told him gaily. "There's so much to do here, not like out in the fishing villages where I'm from. Parties every night, dancing, music, poetry, performances—every spectacle you could ever want to see comes through this city." Her eyes didn't seem right to him, but she was so intelligent. She told him all sorts of interesting things about all of the men in the room, especially the fat ones. He learned all about how one dude was buying something called stock from one company and selling it to people called investors while buying another weird thing called insurance against those same stock things. "They pay well if you're _really_ nice to them," she confided. "They tell me all sorts of things to impress me."

Katsuo wasn't as popular with the unhappy girls. They would glance his way and wince, as though he reminded them of painful things. Some of their eyes were so full of grief and raw rage that he was afraid to approach them. They were the smallest group. The happy ones said they didn't last long.

"They think too much," the blond friend of one of the pair entertaining Jiraiya whispered to him before sneering their way. "They're here for the money, but they leave guilty."

"Or dead," one of the smokers muttered. Katsuo was certain he hadn't been meant to hear that, but Kyuubi did a couple interesting things for him.

The moment the sad girls went out on shift, they pasted seductive grins over their emotions with the same efficiency they touched up their makeup. They were better liars than Katsuo had ever had to be to hide his ninja training from his village. He watched them flirt with suited men and sip alcoholic beverages in a way his mom had told him was "sexy". He saw the men touch places his dad had never touched his mom and had told him and Seiichi not to unless given explicit permission ("Only 'yes' means 'yes', Seiichi. Don't leave it up for interpretation. Women are almost never as stupid as they might pretend to be, not that you should be getting distracted like that while out doing infiltration work. Yuji, Atsushi-san is known for vice, so be sure you avoid doing anything he does that you know I wouldn't approve of."). Katsuo understood though: these men had paid for permission. That was why Jiraiya-jijii, who was almost three times the age of one of his escorts, was allowed to slip his hand under her skirt while she giggled.

Katsuo swore he felt something in him snarl with pure fury when he glanced at a knot of the unhappy women and heat flashed through his belly. He had a fair idea whose fault that was—he had been warned both by Genie (Sarutobi) and Jiraiya that the fox would begin to make its presence known as he grew older. He wished he knew how to go back to that basement to ask why the fox was so angry when he looked at those poor women. He would have to get someone to teach him how.

Jiraiya drank and whispered with escorts as the hours passed. The women he had started with wandered off to summon replacements after receiving a smack on the ass and a wad of ryou notes discretely passed along. Katsuo only noticed the cash because he saw one of the first girls that had worked Jiraiya counting the bills at a side table in the employees-only room. Most of the other girls stashed the cash in their bras or hidden pockets. Not one of them put the money in their lockers. It struck Katsuo as kind of odd. The lockers did have combo locks. Wouldn't money be safe in them?

"Your guardian is a ninja, huh."

Katsuo whipped around to stare at one of the sad women, who had plopped herself down next to him and was watching Jiraiya. "Huh?"

"I've seen his type before. Oh, he's here for the girls, but he's got questions for all of us. You'll see. He'll work his way through half the on-duty staff before he leaves. We know to save our whispers for him. His type pay well." She took a drag from her cigarette and exhaled the smoke out her nose, ignoring Katsuo's attempt to smother his grimace at the smell. "You a ninja too? One in training?"

"Not really. I'm just looking for my mom."

"That so? Too bad. You're smoother than your master is, charming your way in here where you don't have to hide your questions from the other patrons. You're sweet enough that you could get a lot of girls to tell you things for free. Working girls know all kinds of things that men like your guardian forget to ask us questions about. It's the other side of our trade."

"So… if I asked the right questions, I could even find my mom?"

A ghost of a smile quirked the corner of her lips. "If you're clever and you know what you're looking for. Life is all about asking the right people the right questions at the right time, m'boy. It's the wrong ones to the wrong person at the wrong time that death is all about."

_Be careful. Listen carefully,_ something deep inside him whispered. Katsuo nibbled on his lip. Had that been Kyuubi or the suspicion his dad had trained into him? Either way, he had questions. "Did you hear about a woman with very curly hair in the city recently?"

"There are many women in the Red City with curly hair, boy. We get plenty of immigrants. Pick your questions more carefully, but not too carefully. Remember, you aren't the only person who asks us questions. Sometimes, the questions we get asked are who is asking about what."

Suspicion nibbled harder on him. Dad's many lessons about how he had to be very careful about trusting people not vetted by his senpai ninja began to rise up in him. He had thought he had forgotten all but the meaning, but the memories seeped into his mind, clear as they had been four years ago. _"You are a target, Yuji. I am sorry this is so, but it is not something we can change. You are a target. The only way for you to continue being a live target is to acknowledge your status and react and take precautions accordingly."_

_She's a ninja._ Katsuo was almost positive. Was he her target? Or was she simply going to use him to go after the perv? Should he keep trying to play along or try to get away?

"Huh. That's a strange expression, boy." She blew out the smoke from her last drag. "You suddenly scared of me?"

"My mom taught me whores were the coolest, so nah, I'm not scared of you. I just wonder who your client is."

"I've got tons of clients, boy. I'm a whore, not a mistress."

"The one you're supposed to ask questions for."

She smiled as she pressed her cigarette butt into the ashtray. "That would be telling."

He grinned at her. "I can still ask questions?"

"Of course."

"I just have to be careful."

"That's right."

"Do lots of whores want to be geisha?"

A line appeared between her eyebrows. "A fair number. Geisha aren't whores of any sort, sometimes. They're artists. If they're lucky, their poise and cultured talents are for sale, not what lies between their legs. Even the highest courtesan is expected to spread her legs to her wealthy clients eventually."

"What directions are unusual to travel out of the Red City?"

The wrinkle deepened. "North and northeast are generally avoided. North-northwest is the way to the Daimyo's palace, so only a few are permitted to go that way. North is to the small villages between us and the smaller nations. If you go northwest from there, you head towards Grass and Earth Country, which is where the Third World War was fought. If you go north and east, you approach Hot Spring and Lightning, which we are currently at war with."

"So people go south or east or west?"

"Well, not a lot of people go east: East Port's a tough city since there's no ports welcoming trade from us in Water, Hot Spring, or Lightning, so that rules out the entire northeastern coastline. It's easier to go to South Port if you want to trade or travel on the seas."

"Have you heard of a woman with curly hair leaving the city in any of those directions?"

"No. There was a woman headed north with a carter—she stopped to chat with a teashop owner on her way out of town about her crazy reasons for retiring from the geisha path—but her hair was straight, long, and pinned up, like you'd expect from a geisha. Some women went east with a few men, some of them streetwalkers from the slums here, but they were hoping to make it big in the outskirts of East Port, preying on the soldiers manning lighthouse watchtowers along the shoreline. They keep the towers well-manned because the Hokage apparently expects an attack from the sea since he has the northern border protected by his ninja."

Just how much she knew was suspicious, but he still wasn't sure what to do about it. Was her blond hair real? Were her steel blue eyes from a henge? Was she hiding compact muscle beneath that mauve thigh-length kimono?

"Is the Daimyo a good person?"

She shrugged. "He's a noble. Who knows? Does it matter?"

"I'm just curious."

"Well, I've heard he's a fool and easily led. He's more of a figurehead during times of war, so the Hokage is the one really in charge of protecting Fire. The Fire Lord never keeps a mistress long term, but he does call upon them sometimes. His wife… well… she's not what I would have hoped for as the Fire Lady, but it was a noble match."

Katsuo's attention was caught by Jiraiya getting to his feet, drink painting his cheeks red and adding a wobble to his step, but he subtly beckoned to Katsuo all the same as he headed for the cashier to pay off his tab. "I've gotta go," the boy said, sliding off his chair. "Thanks for your help."

"Anytime, boy."

Katsuo arrived at Jiraiya's side just as the cashier handed him his receipt. Several women waved farewell to him as he followed his godfather out the door.

"Enjoy yourself, brat?" the ninja asked.

"She was a kunoichi, wasn't she."

Jiraiya nodded. "Shuriken strapped to her torso beneath her kimono and senbon and stilettos up her sleeves for easy access. Did you notice how her sleeves didn't quite drape properly on the rare times she let them drag on the table? I'm not sure if she's one of ours. Given how she talked to you, she might be. But if she wasn't, she's probably someone from Kumo."

"You're just going to leave her?"

"I'll check her, but there's no point in rooting her out. If I do, then I have to hunt down her replacement. If I don't, I can have her watched in order to find out who she's reporting to, hopefully."

"And if she's got a better way of passing info along?"

"Then we'll try to locate it and crack the access code or cipher without alerting her to the tampering. We don't want them changing their code."

The old ninja was actually pretty smart even when drunk. Katsuo was kind of shocked. "Am I supposed to report our conversation?"

"When we get back to our hotel room. I want to make sure to shake anybody off our trail first."

This lengthy process involved visiting two other brothels and one bar. Jiraiya enjoyed himself thoroughly at each one. Katsuo was not amused.

When he finally did get to go to bed, something drew him deep into the ankle-deep water and dripping pipes. He found his way through the labyrinth of dark corridors more quickly this time and was soon standing in front of Kurama.

**"That ninja woman, she's like us. I smelled Nibi on her."**

"Nibi?" Katsuo frowned. The Sandaime Hokage had briefed him on the other bijuu and their known carriers and had told him that one of his "duties" was keeping them from attacking Konoha. He wasn't too keen on the idea. He had only just begun his lessons about Kyuubi's chakra now that Jiraiya was around to lock his seal if necessary. "Okay, so why drag me here then?"

**"Nibi knows the Shinigami very well. He might have information on how to separate us without risking death. He and I can talk if you loosen the shackles a bit."**

"The shackles? What shackles? I only see a cage door."

**"I'll show you what your father did to me."**

The basement faded into nothing and suddenly Katsuo was somewhere above a cluster of islands in a yellow sea. Each of Kurama's tails was spiked and chained to an island along with his hands and feet. A massive spike pierced his belly and it was surrounded by a dark orange glow near Kyuubi that faded to the same yellow as the sea before dispersing into the sea, feeding it. "You feed my chakra, like the Hokage said. How is that not painful though, being spiked like that?"

**"It is. Your will and chakra keep these spikes in place. The seal is what has kept you doing this since the sealing."** Kurama opened his slitted eyes and the scene faded back to the basement. **"You can loosen this by diverting some of the chakra away from keeping the shackles taut. That will reduce the barrier between me and the world outside your body and soul."**

"If there's a barrier, how could you tell that the Kumo-nin has Nibi?"

**"Much of what you experience comes to me immediately."** Kurama gestured to the scummy water. **"There are always signs. In her case, she has Matatabi's smell. Her seal is not like yours: Matatabi can come out."**

"Then we're going to have to be careful when we go see her, huh?"

* * *

Itachi pulled the lever of the slot machine idly after popping another coin in. He ignored the flashing lights and the spinning dials. Instead, he studied the tiny mirror he had propped up and disguised to study Tsunade-sama.

There was something about the old woman's attitude that confused him. He had been briefed on all the information the village had and Jiraiya-sama had filled in some gaps, so Itachi was well aware of the two deaths that had fuelled her fall from grace and dignity and how her gambling habit had been initiated by her grandfather, the Shodaime. It all made sense, except…

Well, it all made sense except that Tsunade had so much pride. Her fierce pride should never have let her fall this low without twisting into something self destructive. But even her obsessive gambling didn't seem to be fuelled by self loathing and made into a way to punish herself. She genuinely hoped every time she pulled that lever, every time she rolled the dice, and every time she picked up her cards.

She hoped.

There had to be something he could do with that.

People clapped around him, and someone patted him on the shoulder and said, "Congrats, old man!"

Itachi turned back to his machine to find it vomiting coins all over his knees.

He suppressed a sigh. What a mess. Still, he summoned a smile to his disguised face as he turned to his well-wishers.

In the mirror, he caught Tsunade-sama watching him, a tinge of envy in her eyes.

She was so frank, so straightforward. Katsuo-kun had tried that tactic on her in return and had failed. Perhaps he hadn't struck the right note though.

It all came back to the necklace. She had given it to two people who had reportedly aspired to become Hokage to aid them in their dreams.

Katsuo only wanted the necklace as a contingency plan for dealing with the Kyuubi if Itachi had guessed correctly. Or, rather, people around him wanted the necklace on him for that reason. Katsuo cared nothing for what the necklace meant or the Hokage position.

No wonder he had gotten nowhere.

Itachi finished gathering his coins in a sac and snagged his mirror.

Tsunade stiffened as he approached. "You think I can't tell you're wearing a henge?" she snapped without turning to face him.

"I have to if I don't want to be thrown out for being underage," said Itachi, settling at the machine next to hers. People had steered clear of her after the rumours of just how many times she had lost had started circulating. They didn't want her bad luck to rub off on them.

Tsunade peered at him out of the corner of her eye. "The feel of your chakra is familiar. You another one from Konoha? If you've got a scroll from the geezer, I'll shove it down your throat."

"No scroll for you. He has already explained his desires. I am here for a slightly different reason."

She turned to face him, smirking. "Here to plead instead? I don't care how young you are or how lucky; I've got no soft spot for kids."

"At seventeen, I doubt I would inspire much sympathy. My name is Uchiha Itachi, and I am going to be Hokage."

Tsunade laughed. "Ita-kun, do you have any idea how many times I have heard those words?"

"Oh, I know, Tsunade-sama. Twice, they moved you. Twice, they failed you. I don't have the option of failure. I have to save Konoha from itself."

She glanced away from the spinning dials and narrowed her eyes at him. "Itself?"

"I was informed that you haven't been in the village in over a decade. You left shortly after Dan-san's death with his orphaned niece in tow. Before you left, Konoha was at war, so there was an external enemy to draw attention away from the internal strife, to create unity."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that there are forces at work within Konoha that would tear it apart far more quickly than the threat from Kumo, which is being held at bay at the border with Hot Spring Country. The skirmishes have persisted too long; they are no longer a pressing threat, but old news. Tension builds. I can stop it. I must."

"And how can you stop it?"

"By being a symbol, by being greater than I am."

"You're an Uchiha, boy. You'll never be permitted—"

"And that is exactly why there is tension. Sarutobi-sama singled me out and made me his assistant. I spent the time learning the politics and identifying the factions, as he intended. If he passes over me and instead promotes me to ANBU, all is lost. The symbol I could be will be tainted with the association of the Hokage's power. The spreading whispers of what change I could represent will be silenced by the hypocrisy."

She was listening, really listening. He doubted she truly understood; abstractions like the power of symbols tended to fly over the heads of the frank. But he got the feeling she grasped the basics of what he was trying to tell her.

"You hold the necklace of the Shodaime, the symbol of his approval. The legend of its curse is known in Konoha. If you pass it to me and I wear it and live, it would inspire more hope than you could ever know. It would be as if the Shodaime himself was blessing an Uchiha, a filthy, traitorous Uchiha, and deeming him worthy of leading his village."

She sneered. "So you want to capitalize on the necklace's image."

"I would pit my will and my luck and my belief that I have to put myself at risk to protect Konoha against the necklace's curse. I feel the chance of overcoming the hurdles that stand in my way by battling the curse is worth that risk." He dropped his sac of coins on her lap. "Besides, what do you have to lose? If I am not a match for it, the necklace will lead me to death and it will return to you. It would be no fault of yours. If you like, I will force it from your fingers. But I would rather you had faith because I think that, just once, you deserve to have your hope rewarded the same as every other faction in Konoha hoping for one of their own to ascend.

"I bet my life. Are you willing to bet your necklace?"

She hefted his bag of ryou, the coins chinking as she shook it. "You're a smooth brat, I'll give you that. But this bullshit about risking your life? I don't buy it. I won't take a bet with life on the line."

Itachi allowed a half smile to twist his lips, an especially condescending one. "If I do die, I'm sure the necklace wouldn't be so cruel as to have me bleed out all over you, Tsunade-sama." He noted her eyes widening and going slightly glassy. _Now._ "More likely I would be impaled or garrotted by a well-meaning Uchiha hater who is convinced my clan attacked the village with the Kyuubi that night so many years ago."

She regained control of her breathing and her shaking, smothering the reactions before speaking. "And did they?"

Itachi shook his head. "I do not believe so. But I was young and watching over my little brother, only a few months old, because my parents had gone away with all the other Uchiha. My brother was far too young to be left in my hands, but my mother was afraid he would interrupt the meeting."

"A meeting."

"Yes, a meeting. I don't know what it was about, though I have since figured out where it was held. I believe the Uchiha astonishment was genuine when they emerged from the meeting hall later that night before racing to join the tail end of the fight. I believe the scorn and resentment my little brother endured at the Academy was for nothing. He still feels it today. I need to erase it."

She regarded him in silence for a couple minutes, sizing him up. "You've already stolen it, haven't you?"

"I have," he confirmed. "Genjutsu is more effective when it mimics reality than when it alerts the victim to its presence by immersing her in the impossible."

"It was when you started talking about blood."

He nodded. "I was informed of your phobia and the effects it produces. When your stomach started rebelling, your mind froze, and you started shaking, it was simple to bypass your conditioned response to genjutsu and mask my theft."

"I don't like you, boy. You're subtle, like a lot of bastards I've known over the years, Orochimaru included. He was offensive, but he was smooth. However, he didn't care about the living like you do." She scowled. "You have two seconds to run."

Itachi disappeared in a shower of coins.

* * *

Seated on his bed as the morning light streamed through the gaps in the blinds of the hotel window, Katsuo tried to remember the lists of who the jinchuuriki were, what village they belonged to, and where they were he had been given over the years. There had been a couple gaps in the list from one to eight, and a couple changes had occurred in the lineup over the past four years, but he was pretty sure that the last he had heard, Nibi was supposed to be in a blond kunoichi called Nii something. Nii Nibi, that was how he had remembered it on top of all of the political figures and factions for various nations he had been forced to memorize and keep up to date on.

Dad and Genie (the Sandaime) had been big on making sure that if he ever needed to run, he would know what kind of trouble he was running towards as well as away from.

Admittedly, he hadn't retained even one third of everything he had been force-fed—Dad had always sighed after many of his questions during training on the previous day's lecture yielded "Umm" answers from Yuji. He did remember that Nii with the Nibi was supposed to be pretty good. A chuunin at fourteen if he remembered right, so she had a huge amount of experience on him, but would she have the answers he and Kurama were seeking?

Katsuo left Jiraiya snoozing off his overindulgence from the night before on the other bed and a note with "Nibi, kunoichi from last night" scrawled on it on his pillow. He wanted backup, and the surest way to get it was to leave the old perv with no real reason for his disappearance and a clear trail. Katsuo was allowed to wander off on his own just as much as Yuji had been, so far. He was sure Jiraiya would hunt him down the moment he realized he was gone. Katsuo just had to finish his meeting before the old perv caught up.

As he headed from the hotel towards the brothel from the night before, he began pulling chakra away from the seal on his belly.

**_It's going to rain,_** murmured that newly familiar voice. Odd to have it in his head suddenly. He guessed it was a bit like communicating with those Yamanaka people his dad had told him about when they had been going over the clans of Konoha.

_Is it? It's hard to tell inland._ Katsuo spared the horizon, what little of it he could see past the tall buildings, a glance and considered the direction and feel of the wind. It was overcast, but the clouds were high and nowhere near heavy enough to be ready to shed water.

**_The signs are a little different, but I can smell it coming._**

Katsuo took a deep breath and shrugged. It was too subtle. He had yet to become used to the feel of the humidity here.

The gentleman's club hardly looked as impressive and elegant in the light of day. Night had hidden the scuzzy feel of the buildings further down the block. He knocked on the door when it proved to be locked. From his mom's descriptions of the life of whores attached to a brothel, some clients would be leaving at this hour, so someone should be on hand to open the door. He kept banging on the glass until an older woman dressed in a jumpsuit with a cigarette clenched between her teeth ripped the door open with a scowl. "You want something, brat?"

Katsuo patted his pocket. "I was sent with a message for one of the girls here. He said he wants a reply."

The janitor lady rolled her eyes. "Business hours don't start until five."

"He just told me to get a reply. I'm not going back until I get one. He promised me a hundred ryou."

"Cheap, boy."

"That's eight chocolate bars! If I get a good reply, he might give me more!"

After some more bickering, Katsuo got past the janitor. He could have snuck in, but he was trying to leave a trail for Jiraiya. The more witnesses, the better. The scuffle at the door had attracted the attention of quite a few other people on the street. They would remember.

"Which one are you looking for?"

Katsuo frowned. "He didn't give me her name. Just said she's blond and has grey-blue eyes. He said lots of other useless things too, but people change clothes."

"That's Yuri unless one of the other girls was trying out contacts." The janitor puffed on her cigarette, the cherry glowing in the dimly lit lobby. "Upstairs. In room twenty-three. Don't know if she's got some john with her, so it's your party. Get the fuck out of my sight and close the door behind you. If I find it's not tight, I know your face. I'll find you."

Katsuo sneered at her and raced up the stairs as she collected a discarded broom and stalked off. He located the right room easily enough. Using the sense of chakra that keeping some flowing through his system granted, Naruto barely picked out two presences in the room as he lingered against the wall to not create any telltale shadows beneath the door. _Any input?_

_**Demanding.**_

_Do you want this to go smoothly or not? I'm not a sensor type: I can't tell much beyond twenty feet unless chakra's being used. If you can talk to Nibi because I've backed off, maybe you can get her out here? Following through with the ruse any further isn't going to get the kind of time we need for this conversation._

Silence for a time. Katsuo forced himself to be patient. Chakra flowing to his ears finally paid off: he heard someone roll off the bed and onto all fours. The weight made him sure it was someone slight.

Voices. A teasing female chuckle. A masculine growl. Katsuo rolled his eyes. This was taking so long! _Well?_

_**Nibi wants us to talk face to face.**_

_I don't like it; the goal was to have a conversation, but I guess I'm going to have to discard this identity. Worse, she linked me with Jiraiya. My cover with him is blown even if he was wearing a henge. Damn it, Dad is gonna kill me for screwing this up so badly. Not that there was any way I was going to be able to pump her for info on bijuu sealing without getting her suspicious. And not that Dad wasn't going to kill me anyway for looking for information on trying to free you. This is not a good idea._

_**Nibi is nothing compared to me. He only has two tails.**_

_And his vessel is a full ninja. I'm not even a genin. My training focused on maintaining a cover, escape, evasion, and defence. I can do offence, but I'm not going to be anywhere near as good as her. Jiraiya's supposed to be teaching me that attacking stuff. I was trained to_ flee_. I've been told enough times that fighting the guy that started all this isn't the way to go._

_**I'll be with you. Unlike you, I am good at attacking.**_

_Not in the middle of the city, you won't._

_**We agreed to hold the meeting outside the city.**_

_No._

_**It's already decided, cowardly one.**_

_And I say no way. The more witnesses, the less likely it is that she'll off us._ Katsuo pressed himself tighter to the wall when the heavy panting and wet noises from inside the room were punctuated by two pairs of footsteps moving apart. Clothes rustling. Zipper. The smack of a leather wallet being flipped shut. The scrape of paper bills. The low murmur of the kunoichi's voice. The doorknob turned.

Katsuo erected a simple genjutsu projection of the wall behind him in front of him as the client strolled down the hallway, satisfied as a cat. He disappeared down the stairs with a bounce in his step.

Katsuo took a deep breath and dropped the wall genjutsu. His heart was pounding hard. He had never acted on his own like this before. It was terrifying and freeing at the same time. Mostly terrifying.

To find Mom, he reminded himself. And to get Kyuubi out. To get away from this ninja bullshit and finally face the sea.

Ignoring his shaking knees and trembling arms, he stepped towards the doorway and painted the calm mask he had seen on his dad's face every night during training over his own expression. Mamoru had always been calm, even as he had plotted stealing Mom away that last day.

To make it that much more complete, he put on his dad's form, weaving the genjutsu that would help with the height differences the moment the henge was in place.

Yuri was waiting for him, already decked out in a shirt and pants with a kunai pouch and a shuriken holster on her thigh. Her eyes narrowed slightly at his appearance. "Let's go then. The girls have their ears pressed to the walls." She turned and slid the window in her room open.

He followed her easily, scrambling to figure out how to leave a trail now. She might walk with her back to him, but he knew it was a bluff. Every time he didn't step the way she expected, he could sense her focus on him double. If he tried to leave witnesses, she would react terribly, he was sure. If he tried to leave marks… Well, other than slashing building walls as he passed, what could he leave? Jiraiya might notice bits of cloth, but there was no guarantee.

_I really don't like this._

_**Coward.**_ Katsuo heard Kurama sigh. Then something he had been warned to expect but had never experienced happened.

Foreign chakra poured into his system.

Katsuo reflexively pushed his chakra back towards the seal. _Hey!_

_**Fool, relax. Fire isn't your chakra nature. You cannot do this, so I will.**_

Reluctantly, Katsuo let him continue. The foreign chakra flowed down his legs and into his feet. He glanced back and saw he was leaving faint sooty footprints behind in the size of his real feet. _How are you doing that?_

_**Scorch marks. The nature of my chakra allows for such things.**_

_Handy. Thanks._

* * *

"You want to know how to _free_ your tailed beast?" Yuri sounded disgusted and incredulous. Her long blond hair fluttered in the breeze that rustled the grasses of the empty pasture they stood in, which was part of the farmland on the very edges of the Red City. Cows that presumably used this pasture when not in the one they currently occupied watched them as they twitched away flies.

Katsuo nodded.

She just blinked and shook her head, as if to say "Not my problem if he's fool enough to let it rampage _again_." "You lose control. You let the demon take you."

"How do we separate though? Without one or the other of us dying?"

She shook her head again. "It can't be done. Removing the bijuu is death for the vessel. Always. The strongest don't last an hour."

Katsuo ignored the sinking feeling in his stomach. She had to be wrong. Her people must have lied to her. "You've never even heard whispers—?"

"Look, you seem to misunderstand something, Shimura Takashi-san."

Katsuo started at the sound of his father's birth name. There was another problem: he was wearing Mamoru's face, not Takashi's, so that meant…

"I recognize your face from the sketches. Not quite as old as I expected you to look, though. What were you doing down there? When did you become a jinchuuriki?"

"Classified." That had been Dad's favourite answer to Mom's questions on the rare occasions they had spoken freely when Yuji had been able to hear them. He could count those instances off on one hand. "Answer my question."

"I already told you. If you really are stuck with the Kyuubi, the only way out for him is your death. And I can't let you let him out or let you keep him for Konoha."

Katsuo reflexively countered the kunai hurtling towards his face with one of his own, suddenly grateful for the ridiculous number of hours Dad and Seiichi had forced him to practice that. But she was rushing him now, chakra bubbling visibly over her skin, shifting from red to blue and black. _Shit! That's a chakra cloak!_

Katsuo swore he could sense the Kyuubi's glee. **_Brace yourself._**

Pumping chakra to his feet as pain receptors in his skin began to scream, Katsuo back pedalled rapidly. _This is your fault!_ Red chakra began bubbling forth, destroying the henge and leaving him as himself out in the open for the first time ever. Gods, he hoped the red chakra was hiding his blond buzz cut and blue eyes. It was certainly distorting his pale skin. It burned, just as the Sandaime had warned. _We need to escape._

_**We can't outrun Nibi.**_

_Fuck that noise!_

_**We cannot. But I can beat him.**_

_Killing every cow for miles in the process and bringing the notice of every ninja for a hundred miles down on us!_

_**But I will still have beaten him. And he attacked first!**_

"They said the Yondaime Hokage killed the Kyuubi, but we knew that had to be a lie!" Yuri-san snarled as she pulled up and spat a fireball at Katsuo.

With energy and speed he had never experienced before, Katsuo dodged around the fireball, cringing with guilt at the damage to the field as smoking sod exploded in all directions from the site of impact, leaving a crater a good twenty feet wide and four deep in the pasture. The farmer was not going to be happy. Heck, Katsuo wasn't happy and those cows stampeding away in the other pasture weren't even his.

Kurama, on the other hand, was thrilled, the crazy fox bastard. Katsuo could feel him gathering the energy layered over his skin, perhaps about to try something just like what had almost hit him.

"No!" He almost didn't recognize his own voice. It wasn't just that the genjutsu and henge changing the tone and timbre to suit Katsuo instead of Yuji were gone. No, Yuji's real voice was unrecognizable because it was rough and gravelly and had some sort of power throbbing beneath the words. "Stop it!"

Yuji didn't know if he was talking to Kurama or Yuri-san. Probably both.

**_You would have me let Nibi hit us?_** Kurama sounded disgusted.

"Not here! Away!" Yuji turned on his heel, dodging instinctively beneath a hail of shuriken while whipping out some of his own to keep her off his heels, and pointed himself southwest, towards the nearest forest on the foot of the mountains that defined the southern horizon.

Yuji sprinted as he never had before, using chakra as he never had before, praying that somehow someone would come.

He wasn't ready for this.


	9. Chapter 9

Yuji's trail had stopped at the brothel. Tenzou and Jiraiya-sama had found nothing after sneaking in and frantically circling the block until one shop owner had admitted to seeing the blond whore head out with a dark-haired man. Further questioning had revealed features that rang a bell for Tenzou.

Yuji only had one grown-man henge.

Unfortunately, the trail had quickly gone cold: the whore had a good understanding of the Red City's streets and which ways weren't likely to be mired with traffic or nosy shop minders.

"Damn brat," Jiraiya-sama hissed as they surveyed the lay of the land from atop an apartment complex. "He knows he's not supposed to go off alone. He damn well should know better than to go after a jinchuuriki on his own!"

Tenzou kept his peace. He knew only too well that the whore could have killed Yuji already a hundred times over. His only hope that was that she would not because—as in the past—Kumo probably wanted to get their hands on Kyuubi, which was best done with Yuji alive on arrival in Kumo.

It felt so wrong that all hope stemmed from the Kyuubi's existence.

A explosion of chakra to the south grabbed their attention. A dimming cloud of smoke was rising from the woods covering the foothills of Mount Bousui. It was immediately followed by another blast, blinding in its fiery intensity despite the distance even as the woods began to burn. The sound of the two explosions hit them belatedly, arriving one after the other, jolting them out of their horror.

"Shit! Kyuubi!" hissed Jiraiya-sama. He led the way across the urban canopy, leaping from roof to roof when possible, but sometimes it was necessary to latch onto the side of a much taller building and run along the wall.

Some instinct made Tenzou duck. Whipping his head around as he continued in the Toad Sage's wake, he saw a kunai crackling with Lightning-nature chakra embedded deep into a concrete wall. Whoever had thrown it—probably another Kumo-nin—wasn't visible. Ahead of him, Jiraiya-sama nudged another Lightning-imbued kunai off course by shredding a shuriken against it as he dropped to the roof of a simpler residential building. They were in the suburbs now. There would be less cover.

Tenzou caught sight of a lanky man as he ducked down behind a house just ahead and far to the right.

A hail of senbon from the left—a woman in a janitor's jumpsuit dropped behind the peak of a roof.

"Tenzou, there are five up ahead," Jiraiya called back, a small toad on his shoulder. "Probably all jounin."

Of course Kumo wouldn't have planted their jinchuuriki in enemy territory without guards. Tenzou began budding off clones: two, four, six, eight… Half took on Jiraiya-sama's appearance as they dropped into the streets along with the originals for some cover as bombardment from both sides began to pick up.

With a nod, Tenzou headed off through a back yard with a clone pretending to be Jiraiya. The Hermit did the same with another clone. The remaining clones paired up and scattered.

It was of paramount importance that Jiraiya-sama made it to Yuji. He was the most likely one to be able to interrupt a fight between demons. Tenzou could see the forest fire was gaining ground even as explosions continued to pop up with their brilliant bursts of light and smoke whenever he got to glance southward as he ran.

This was going to be tough. He was at an elemental disadvantage with Earth and Water nature against Lightning. He was also outnumbered and probably outclassed in terms of combat experience: undercover missions didn't lend themselves to gathering real-world battle practice. Their aim would be to eliminate him since he knew that the whore was a jinchuuriki, just as his aim was to silence them since they knew Kyuubi existed in a Konoha ninja. Not that there really was much chance of covering that up now that the southern forest was exploding, Kyuubi's menacing chakra flaring like a beacon.

He really hoped that Itachi somehow showed up. Even help from the local Konoha ninja plants would be welcome, though they would probably be as out of practice in combat as he was.

* * *

Jiraiya emerged from the throat of a toad with one of Tenzou's clones on his heels on the edge of the forest and began sprinting to close the distance. He hoped that Tenzou would be okay alone: he had left two shadow clones to take his and this Mokuton clone's place.

A black and blue beast was sometimes visible between the trees, the second chakra beacon—Nibi from Naruto's note. It let loose three consecutive fireballs, and Jiraiya narrowed his eyes and grimaced as three huge craters appeared on the hillside.

Then a fiery explosion expanded near the Nibi, the force knocking it back while destroying everything for a good two miles. Brilliant light faded to dark smoke, engulfing the area.

Jiraiya was suddenly very glad that the bijuu were contained to mortal bodies and thus unable to use their full power.

What this was going to do and might have already done to his godson's body worried him though. The Uzumaki Clan had amazing stamina and resilience, but could Naruto really handle that much destructive chakra without breaking into so many splinters the way the trees were exploding in the heat of the fires just ahead?

A roar and another shockwave hit them, pushing them back. Tenzou's clone barely kept his feet, anchoring himself to the ground with roots as Jiraiya braced himself with chakra, though he raised a hand to indicate they weren't going any farther.

"Tenzou, send in another clone."

Nodding, the bunshin budded off another, which went running off ahead. The clone pressed a hand to his ear, listening in as the second clone reported.

"The Nibi seems to be fully formed, as our spies in Kumo reported. Nii Yugito has a good enough hold on the beast to assume its form just like reports say the Raikage's brother can. Yuj—Katsuo is wearing the Kyuubi's chakra cloak. There are four visible tails. His flesh is odd. Instead of just a chakra cloak, his body seems to resemble a humanoid version of the fox. Red and black chakra coats his skin so thickly that I can't actually see it. His face is black, and his eyes are white and glowing. No pupils. This is beyond what Sandaime-sama briefed me on," Tenzou reported.

Jiraiya grimaced. This was strange. The morph seemed to indicate that the Kyuubi had more control at the moment than Naruto did.

"He's on his haunches with his tails all pointing to a ball of chakra he's assembling from blue and black balls that emerged from his skin."

"Which way is he facing?"

"Towards the Nibi."

"Make sure your clone is clear. That's what caused the mushroom cloud earlier. Shodaime-sama wrote quite a bit on the bijuu attacks."

"A bijuudama," Tenzou-kun whispered.

"Yes." Jiraiya scaled a tree and crouched on a branch, looking towards where the clone was probably similarly perched a couple miles ahead. What had that brat been thinking? Had Takashi told the kid it was his job to root out other jinchuuriki and fight them? Had the Sandaime? Takashi loved the kid like a son, so Jiraiya doubted the man would have told the boy that, knowing that the skills he had taught the boy lay in keeping him alive and hidden. It was Jiraiya's job to get the boy ready for combat on a monstrous scale. So would the Old Man have had Naruto told that the jinchuuriki were his responsibility?

Jiraiya really hoped not.

But if the Old Man hadn't, that left an awful lot of questions.

The world ahead exploded. Heat scorched every bit of exposed skin as the shockwave blasted leaves, nuts, and twigs into the air. Birds had already vacated the area on the first major attack; Jiraiya and Tenzou had passed a couple ones whose wings had obviously been broken by the radiating force of the early blasts.

In the ringing silence following the wave, a couple trees groaned and toppled with splintering crashes.

"Kyuubi is driving Nibi back!" Tenzou reported.

"Good." Jiraiya let the grimace distort his face. There was no guarantee the fox was actually cooperating with Naruto; the bijuu were famous for their infighting. Still, so long as Kyuubi's preoccupation with tearing Nibi apart kept him from aiming a deadly blast at the Red City, he would let the bijuu handle things.

He would not, however, let Kyuubi or Nibi or the Kumo kunoichi leave this place. Kyuubi was only getting away if he was quiet inside of Naruto. The Kumo ninja wasn't getting that luxury. If Kyuubi didn't kill her, Jiraiya would, and Tenzou would hopefully draw out and take care of all of the other Kumo ninja.

He refused to think about the obvious: that some Kumo ninja had already reported Naruto's appearance to Kumo before returning to join the effort to keep Jiraiya and his godson separated, that all this effort was futile because the cat (well, fox) was already out of the bag.

He had to believe damage control would help, even if it was looking more unlikely by the second that even with Sage Mode's endurance and the help of the elder toads he'd be able to defeat a jinchuuriki in harmony with her beast like Nii Yugito obviously was. A cat made of the hottest flames was not going to be intimidated by fiery oil or a toad landing on it.

* * *

Yuji had been terrified even as Kurama had argued with him until he'd submitted to the fox's judgement and passed through the bars of the cage, which apparently handed over control to Kyuubi. No one had come, like the bijuu had said. Who knew when Jiraiya would wake up and notice he was gone after that much sake. Who knew if Seiichi-nii or Itachi would poke their heads into the hotel room when they were supposed to be getting that damn necklace from Tsunade-bitch.

He had been on his own. With Kyuubi. With Nibi and Nii on his heels.

So he had walked.

He'd half expected Kurama to squash him like a bug beneath his huge, humanlike hands, but the fox had settled on his haunches, shut his eyes, and taken the reins. His body had stopped in its tracks, and then the world had burned, literally.

Even when he wasn't in charge, sensory information of the kind that getting whole-body, third-degree chakra burns created came through loud and clear. He actually wasn't sure his clothes weren't incinerated, which was probably going to be damn embarrassing later.

Kyuubi was winning though, just like he'd promised.

"**Get off, brat."**

Yuji grinned slightly even as he took in the storm of power swirling between Kyuubi and Nibi. Guilt rose in him as the chakra blasts and fireballs flew thick and fast. Powerful attacks earlier had levelled so much forest, transforming their battlefield into a plain of blackened, splintered stumps and embers and soot that were the remains of anything that had grown taller than those stumps.

He was going to feel guilty forever about this ruin.

His perch shifted back and forth. "**I mean it, kid. Get off. My knee is not a stool."**

"Could have fooled me," Yuji said, burying his fingers in the thick orange fur as stretchy arms hurled boulders torn from deep underground at Nibi's different-coloured eyes even as another body budded to bat aside a fireball while Kurama prepared another one of those huge balls he had to swallow and spit out.

"**It's not hard."**

"What's not hard?" Yuji asked as Kurama tried to dislodge him from his perch by shaking his knee.

The fox just sighed, regarding his with that large slitted red eyes before shaking his head and closing his eyes for focus. "**Your lame guardian and two of the man you call brother are here."**

Yuji's eyes widened. "Really? They finally came?"

"**Yes, a couple moments ago. One of the one like the Shodaime is watching from atop a tree behind us on the left."**

Yuji scoured his peripheral vision, searching for a glimpse. "Are they going to jump in?"

Kurama snorted. "**Of course not. Ninja have always been more than happy to use our fights to their advantage. I can defeat Nibi. They cannot, pathetic as they are. I suppose they would be even more pathetic if they failed to realize this though."**

That huge attack burned blinding white as it ripped apart and incinerated even the roots of those smouldering stumps, now just soot. Nibi's smaller version of the attack failed to deflect it enough to prevent the huge cat from sustaining serious damage. So Jiraiya-jijii was going to let him handle this. That meant he had to kill Nii. She had seen him. It was way too late to prevent anyone from knowing that Kyuubi existed, but for someone to know the face he had been born with and Katsuo's face as well as his dad's was a disaster.

Dad had told him so many times that the only good kind of witness was one buried in an unmarked grave out where no one would find it.

So morbid. How like the ninja.

"You… You gonna kill her?"

He opened his eye, which was bigger than Yuji's head, and peered down at him. "**Matatabi can escape death, and what do I care for a human container? Shouldn't you be happy, boy? Killing her means she can't talk, can't attack your country, and can't be an ace for Kumo. She won't answer our questions, and she doesn't seem to intend to let you live if she can't beat you up enough to drag you back with her so her people can rip me out of you the hard way."**

"You've won though…" In the background, the great cat screamed as a rapid stream of fiery balls hit now and again, the cat's great bulk working against its attempts to dodge. He suppressed a grimace at the sound.

The fox's eye narrowed as his ears flattened. "**Mercy?"**

"I…" Yuji grimaced. "Yeah."

"**Weak."** Another bijuudama threw Nibi into the air. The great cat began running upon hitting the ground. "**Do you pity the kunoichi? That's a vile emotion, you know. Almost as rancid as despair."**

Pity? "Nah. Not pity. Fear? Of change? How will my mom look at me when my body killed somebody, even with you driving?"

"**Selfishness. A little better smelling."** Kyuubi's teeth gleamed from between his dark lips. A grimace? A grin?

"Emotions with smell, huh?" Yuji hopped off Kurama's knee and bounded towards the bars.

"**What are you doing?"**

He stepped between the bars and glanced back. "Making a choice. Can't have you do everything. I'm not a ninja, which is probably a good thing given how lame an excuse for one I am, having to get rescued like a whimpering damsel by you when a kitty hisses at me. I'm not one of their jinchuuriki either though. They don't get to use you or me."

"**Fool boy!"** Though he snarled that, Yuji could have sworn that, underneath it all, the fox was pleased.

Yuji opened his eyes to the sight of Seiichi-nii and Jiraiya sprinting after the kunoichi. Northeast.

He was going to be in such deep shit for this when they got back.

Then the pain hit him.

His skin was on _fire_.

The dark chakra had receded back into his skin, leaving it looking more like raw meat that flared with pain every time a raindrop landed on it with a splat, sending the blood and oozing plasma dripping down the bare planes of his arms and chest.

Yup, no fabric had survived the fight. He was too exhausted to care too much.

That was still damn embarrassing though. Kurama was going to have to do better next time, he though inanely through the roar of pain as he rushed to meet the soot soup the rain had made of the ashes of a fight between two gods.

* * *

Itachi managed to lose Tsunade-sama at nightfall. Shizune-san had joined the hunt immediately, as expected, but the ruckus to the south had created crowds of gawking civilians to throw them off in. He hadn't needed to stand and watch to figure out what had been going on. He had been able to feel the nature of the two chakra sources involved. He felt bad for not going to help Yuji-kun, but Tsunade-sama and her apprentice were not slouches despite their lack of ninja work in many a year.

That was why he was returning to the hotel despite how Tsunade-sama had it staked out. Using genjutsu, he managed to slip past Shizune-san, but he doubted that would hold her at bay for long. He had been as subtle as possible, but if she was wary, she would eventually detect how the memory of not seeing anything lingered so long. Investigation would lead her to traces of disturbance in her chakra.

But, with luck, he would have enough time.

He found Tenzou and Jiraiya-sama in the latter's room. Both looked exhausted but mostly unharmed.

On one of the beds, Yuji-kun lay. There was no genjutsu or henge disguising his features this time, so he appeared as he first had in his subconscious on the way to meet the Kyuubi: blond with ruddy skin, so very different from the dark, curly-haired image he had claimed as his own.

Itachi waited.

"The Nibi." Jiraiya-sama dragged his hand down over his face as though trying to wipe away the weariness. "He left a note for me to find and headed out. Left a trail. Went to a brothel. Was losing the trail when the ruckus started. Tenzou distracted the other Kumo ninja while I went for Katsuo. He looked like raw meat when he came out of it. And then he collapsed. It took ages to get all the dirt off the raw skin."

"The Nibi?" Itachi asked.

Tenzou sighed. "Ran north. Jiraiya-sama and I harried her but failed to stop her: she pulled a similar stunt with her beast to what Yuji did and picked up more speed than we could compete with. Probably three quarters of the way to the border by now."

"And has Yuji been conscious? Do we know why?"

"No. His skin has almost finished forming. We were going to get Shizune-san or Tsunade-sama to help, but we couldn't locate them." Tenzou grimaced at the blood-smeared bedding Yuji lay on. "We'll need to change his sheets. We were worried bandages might get sealed into the new skin."

"They were hunting me."

Tenzou and Jiraiya both looked at him for the first time since he had entered the room. Jiraiya-sama managed a halfhearted smirk at the blue crystal Itachi held out for their inspection. "What did you do, steal it from her?" He whistled when Itachi nodded. "I'm impressed you're still alive."

"Yuji-kun's distraction helped a great deal. If I may, I suggest you both go get some rest. Shizune-san is outside, watching the building. You may be able to convince her to check on Yuji-kun. I will stand guard and alert you if there are any changes."

Tenzou-san looked rebellious, but Jiraiya-sama clapped him on the shoulder. "Go get some sleep. I'll go order Shizune to stick her head in and keep her off Itachi's case for the night: at least her watch will hopefully keep Kumo ninja that Tenzou and the other Leaf ninja didn't manage to kill or run off at bay. Itachi, go hide when you sense us coming. I'll leave him in your care, but come get one of us when you get tired." With that, Jiraiya-sama pushed Tenzou out of the room.

Itachi heard the bed in the next suite creak as his teammate settled in. When he detected Shizune and Jiraiya-sama returning, he slipped out the window and hid on a balcony of the building across the way with a good view of the room despite the cold, heavy rainfall that had started two hours ago. At least it would quench the fires left smouldering after the bijuu battle. When he saw Shizune leaving, he slipped back into the room.

Jiraiya-sama nodded to him as he left. "She said he'll probably wake up soon."

Itachi settled in to wait, listening intently to the thrum of chakra of the two men in the next suite as they eventually did drift off. He could also feel the hum of the boy's chakra. It was nothing like the blazing torch that had screamed out to anyone with the senses to hear/feel it this afternoon. It was also changing pace, indicating that Yuji would soon wake.

His eyes, very blue, cracked open a sliver as his face with the strange whisker marks spasmed into a wince.

"How are you feeling?" Itachi asked.

"Like someone shucked off my scales, gutted me, roasted me over a fire, and slathered me with butter. I really want some bluefish right now."

Itachi poked around in the suite's fridge and found a couple rice balls and some tofu. He handed over the bounty to the boy, who very slowly nibbled on the rice ball after attempting to open his mouth wide enough to inhale it had elicited a groan of pain and grumbles about a stupid fox not knowing how a human jaw was supposed to work and what its limits were.

"How much damage did we do?" the boy whispered.

"No people were caught up in your fight."

"And the forest? The farmer's pasture? The forest animals?"

"I only saw glimpses of the damage. I estimate approximately fifty hectares of forest was damaged. Twenty-five hectares is my guess of how much was completely destroyed."

Yuji hung his head. "Shit. I didn't mean for it to go that way at all. I only wanted to ask her some questions, but she attacked me in the middle of a pasture. I couldn't let her damage anything else. I tried to get her all the way to the mountain, but she caught up and Kurama figured we couldn't run anymore."

"Kurama?"

"The fox."

Interesting. "How did you know she was a jinchuuriki?"

"Kurama felt Nibi when she came over and chatted with me while the perv was giggling with her coworkers. Me and the perv agreed she was a ninja, but Kurama was the one who knew she was more than that. I just wanted to ask her a couple questions before Jiraiya caught up with me."

"What questions?"

"What it was like for her. If she had been told the same things."

Itachi frowned. If Yuji hadn't been lying, those questions smacked very close to treason in the strictest sense. They implied a deep lack of trust in what Konoha had told the boy. That the boy had used them as the lie indicated that they probably covered up an even worse question.

This boy did not belong to Konoha. Itachi didn't know what sort of training he had undergone, but the unquestioning trust most young Academy students developed didn't exist in him. That made him both more and less dangerous than most new genin. His belief wouldn't be challenged or possibly shaken by anything nasty he heard about Konoha. Most jounin had reached that point. But the foundation of trust in the village was what kept jounin loyal and willing to throw their lives away in service. This boy didn't have a deep-seated belief that Konoha was a good place.

The Nibi jinchuuriki would report about Konoha's jinchuuriki, but Itachi knew that Konoha did not own the Kyuubi the way it should. Only two frail strands bound this boy: Tenzou and Jiraiya-sama.

It wasn't enough.

"Yuji, why are you with Jiraiya-sama?"

The boy raised an eyebrow at him. "I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you that."

"I am cleared to know about the Kyuubi, otherwise Sarutobi-sama would not have allowed me to meet you."

"Hmm." The boy finished off the chunk of cold tofu. "Well, I was in hiding until a couple months ago. I knew I was too, but then suddenly my whole family gets torn apart and I'm ordered to stay with the old perv. He's not a bad guy, I guess, but my dad… He didn't say anything. He just took my mom like it was nothing. She knew. She was fine until suddenly my brother asks me to look at something as we're all about to go out and she started freaking out. She told a whopper about being worried about some murderer, but I should have known. Dad and my brother _trained me_ to look for lies and plots, but I trusted them. I trusted them. I thought we were all supposed to be together, forever." He grimaced and wiped his eyes with his forearm.

"I don't know where they took her. I know Dad went back to Konoha. Jiraiya promised to tell me where she went when we found the hag's necklace."

"And what are you going to do with the knowledge of her location?"

Yuji met Itachi's gaze. "Find her. I always promised Mom that if she and Dad split up, I'd go with her. I can't stay with her yet, not with the fox in me, making me a target, but I want to make sure she's okay."

And Itachi suddenly had a very good idea what questions Yuji had asked the other jinchuuriki. It firmed his resolve. He pulled the necklace out of his pocket.

Yuji's eyes widened. "How did you get her to give it to you?"

"I stole it."

The boy blinked. "Huh. I should have thought of that."

"Keeping away from her was the greater challenge. She is a jounin with a lot of experience."

"I bow to your level of skill and awesome." The boy held out his hand.

Itachi enclosed the necklace in his fist. "I'd like to speak with you frankly first."

"Uh, sure. Shoot."

"You don't believe ninja are a good thing, do you."

He grimaced and nodded. "I don't think there should be any ninja. All you guys are good for are wars."

"You don't consider yourself a ninja then, despite your training."

"I'm not registered as one. I was trained to do lots of things, but that doesn't mean that's who I am. I'm going to be a ship's captain."

Ah, so that was why the boy's accent rang bells. Southern Fire, along the coast. He rolled his vowels the same way they did in the smaller villages west of South Port all the way to River Country's largest city, Fools Port. "This necklace has a curse, so they say."

"I've been told." Yuji's lips twisted into a frown. "I'm not actually too keen to put it on."

"It belonged to our first Hokage. It is a powerful symbol, one I'm not certain someone who is not a ninja and has no respect for ninja should wear."

"Wait… are you saying you're not going to give me the necklace even though it's your mission?"

Itachi held the boy's gaze. "You don't care about Konoha the way this necklace implies."

"That Tsunade hag doesn't seem to either."

"Oh, she does. She is just trying to forget." Itachi turned his attention to the inoffensive painting above the dresser, not really looking at it. He triple checked that Jiraiya and Tenzou were sleeping. "I have a bargain for you."

Silence.

"I'll let you wear the necklace until Jiraiya-sama hands over your mother's location. You can then return the necklace to me, thereby avoiding the curse. In return, you will owe me two favours I can cash in as I need to. If I call, you will come to help me." Itachi turned back to meet those narrowed blue eyes.

"I'm not a good fighter. That was all Kurama today."

"Where you go, Kurama goes. How you fulfill the favours I ask is up to you."

The way that Yuji forced his gaze not to drop, which would have revealed a lie, confirmed Itachi's fear about Kurama and Yuji's goal. Fortunately, Itachi was fairly certain that short of letting himself be consumed, a jinchuuriki was stuck with his beast until it was extracted from him for the next host. "And how are you gonna let me know that you want a favour? Jiraiya doesn't seem to stay in one place except when he's editing his books."

"You have a way of communicating with the Hokage. It was implied in a couple conversations. I assume he can communicate with you?"

Yuji nodded guardedly.

"I will pass messages that way."

"Only the Sandaime has ever talked to me through it," Yuji protested. "How would you get access to it?"

"That is my problem. You will watch out for my messages. The first time I call in a favour, I will use the phrase 'One for Sorrow' and the phrase 'Four for a boy'. The second time, I'll use 'Five for silver' and 'Seven for a secret never to be told'."

Yuji murmured the phrases to himself and nodded.

"You agree?"

"Two favours. No time limit, though I'd recommend you use them before I'm old and grey and useless. Neither of the favours can be for more favours."

Itachi allowed a smirk to cross his lips. "Very well." He held out the necklace.

Yuji shook with him on it, the necklace leaving in his palm.

* * *

Itachi left to wake Jiraiya, and Yuji stared at the crystal in his palm. Pulling chakra away from his seal, he whispered, "Oi, Kurama."

_**What?**_

_Can you tell if this thing is cursed?_

_**No, it's not. The deaths were the result of circumstances. You humans tend to ascribe deaths during wartime to supernatural causes when the whole point of your war is to kill each other.**_

_You don't even believe in curses, do you?_

Kurama snorted, the sound echoing around the large chamber Yuji suddenly found himself. He really hated standing in the cold scummy water. "**Curses are usually the result of a seal and 'cast' by beings that know sealing."**

"So you can't see any seals on it?"

Kurama hesitated. "**Seeing seals can be difficult. They're not always written to appear, or the object may be affected by a seal while not actually having a seal attached to it."**

"So it could be cursed."

Kurama didn't reply.

"Damn it. I'll see if I can get away with not putting it on. I hope just touching it doesn't count."

"**Glancing contact is not a good way to specify what to affect with a seal. Wearing it however…"**

The hotel room's door opened. "So, kid, you feeling better?" asked Jiraiya as he sat down on his bed.

Yuji nodded. "Still pretty sore though. I'm not exactly sure what happened. The fox was in charge for a lot of it. I'm still working on the third step with Rasengan, and all the instincts Dad trained into me say to flee first."

The old perv sighed. "If it was Madara like we thought for the longest time, running and hiding would have been your best option. He could control the Kyuubi, so it was a better idea not to let you fall into his hands. If it wasn't Madara though…"

… _**Still.**_

Yuji cocked his head. _What was that?_

_**Nothing.**_

_No, you said something._

"Kid?"

Yuji held up a hand to hold Jiraiya's questions off. _No, really, what?_

… _**Even if he wasn't Madara, he still controlled me.**_ Yuji could tell that admission had hurt the prideful fox.

_Well, that sucks. Still, Itachi promised to kill him to make sure he can't do it again. He got the necklace from Tsunade-bitch, unlike Jiraiya-jijii. Maybe he's reliable._ "Fox told Itachi this other guy can too, so I still think it's a good plan. Besides, Dad told me that Uchiha are damn scary ninja."

"Well, yes," Jiraiya admitted. "Their eyes make them very powerful. Anyway, what I want to know is why. Why did you go to meet with her?"

Yuji had known this question was coming. "The Hokage told me something pretty interesting once. He said that Kumo jinchuuriki were different. Better. He said that B, the Raikage's brother, can do all sorts of really interesting stuff with his bijuu. I remembered that Nibi belonged to Kumo too. I wanted to ask her how they did that. I thought that maybe if I approached her just as a container, maybe she'd share."

"Kid, Kumo is at war with us. They don't send jinchuuriki out to do reconnaissance. No, she was here because it's the perfect place to wait and hide until she's ordered to attack the Daimyo or Konoha. We were positive she was in Kumo, like B, too. Besides, Kushina and Mito-sama had good control over the Kyuubi too. Didn't Sarutobi-sensei tell you?"

"He did. He wasn't exactly sure how they did it though. It was a jinchuuriki secret between the two of them. And he said that they never did anything like what B and Yugito do."

"Still, we're in Fire and you were with me. You told me she knew I was a ninja; she probably realized I was from Konoha, if she didn't figure out who I was."

"That's why I just wanted it to be me. I was hoping that maybe she wouldn't think I was for Konoha or anything. But when I wore Mamoru's face, she recognized me. She called me Shimura Takashi."

The old perv frowned.

"How different is my dad's face from his real one?"

"Fairly different. He softened some features and sharpened others and shifted some distances. He's an expert at that sort of thing, which is why he was chosen. Someone must have cracked the henge. Usually only Hyuuga can do that. Uchiha can see that one's being used, but they can't see through it. That's why Kumo wanted a Hyuuga so much that they tried to kidnap one during the attempted peace talks."

Yuji mulled over this. He supposed that meant that maybe the Hokage hadn't been lying about why his family had been torn apart. He still wasn't sure though. It had been too sudden, to convenient with Jiraiya already there to pick up the pieces. "I've got the necklace now. You gonna keep your part of the bargain?"

Jiraiya arched an eyebrow at him. "Tenzou needs to attune himself first. Then we'll talk about your mom. You gonna drag your brother out of bed when he spent hours tracking that Nibi woman to make sure she wasn't going to come back and kill you?"

Yuji felt guilt gnaw at him. "First thing in the morning."

"If you wake up that early. Change your bedding if you're that kipper already. You don't want to sleep in your own blood. Soak it in cold water to get the stains out. Go have a shower too."

* * *

"She was supposed to go to Port Mure."

Yuji's mind instantly jumped to his mental map of the Kinuzu Sea. Port Mure was the largest city in Wind Country. It was also the largest port on the south coast, larger than South Port, because it served as a major gateway for trade with the western nations with its sheltered inlet, which offered protection from the capricious temperament of the sea. He could get there within a week if he moved at ninja speeds. If he forced himself to more conventional travel in order to blend in, it would take him a few weeks.

Should he leave now though? Should he abandon Jiraiya and break off on his own? It was a terrifying possibility for someone who had never been allowed a day to be completely alone. He had had his first taste of solitude yesterday and it hadn't ended well.

Jiraiya and Tenzou were watching him carefully, so Yuji decided to think about all this later.

"You gonna put Katsuo back on?" asked Jiraiya.

"Is it safe to? I mean, sure, Nii left the city without running into anyone and Niichan got rid of her backup, but…"

"It should be okay for a couple days. It's better than having the hotel staff notice something."

Nodding, Yuji ran through the handseals for Henge no Jutsu and then painstakingly went through the process of building the genjutsu field that would affect anyone that tried to touch his illusory hair or his slightly changed features before he dug the folded up paper seal out of the pouch around his neck and pushed some chakra back into it to reactivate it. Katsuo's coffee-coloured skin was far more natural than Naruto's pink.

"Good. Now let's go get some breakfast. After, you and I are going to work on your pathetic offensive skills so that debacle yesterday doesn't happen again. Coming, Tenzou?"

His brother shook his head. "I should go find Itachi. He disappeared early this morning after I sensed Shizune-san approaching. They probably still think he has the necklace."

Jiraiya frowned. "Tsunade will figure out pretty soon that Itachi handed it over to Katsuo if she hasn't already. I did tell her why we needed it." He turned a smug grin on Katsuo. "You're in luck, kid! You might have the chance to fight against Tsunade to keep that necklace around your neck."

Katsuo scowled.

* * *

Tsunade and Shizune apparently had good reason to think that Itachi had kept the necklace (probably a henge of Itachi wearing it as he led them on a merry chase through the Red City) because Katsuo hadn't been bothered by them all day. He had instead had to practice fighting against a clone of the old perv, which was still plenty strong, while the real perv sat under a tree at the edge of the field, out of the drizzle that was all that remained of yesterday's rain, writing.

Katsuo had managed to keep the clone from landing a solid hit on him, but he had not managed to land a real hit on it, so training had been considered a failure.

"Why are we still here?" Katsuo asked as he flopped down on the grass near Jiraiya. "I thought we were just here to get the necklace. We've got it, and Niichan attuned himself or whatever."

"Itachi is also here to get Tsunade back to Konoha. We're sticking around to see if we can help."

That was good: it meant that Katsuo would still have time to give the necklace back to Itachi. Walking around with it on made him feel like he had a huge target painted on his back. He rolled onto his side to face away from Jiraiya as he turned his attention to the big issue: what to do about the knowledge of where his mom was. He wanted to go to her, but what the ninja might have done to her to make her not try to find him too scared him. He needed to confirm that she was really still out there, that the ninja hadn't actually killed her to keep the secret, though.

Besides, if he did stay with Jiraiya, he would be forced to learn more about the ninja trade to prepare him for battles Yuji didn't want to fight. Also, if he was going to keep his promise to Kurama, he needed to get away from Jiraiya. The old perv believed the fox was evil and that it needed to be locked inside him. If he discovered what he and Kurama had agreed, there was no telling what he would do.

But that meant he needed to leave.

_**Coward.**_

_I'm thirteen. I should be apprenticing on a ship by now, not planning a multinational trek._

_**It's just walking. Besides, I am here. What is there to be afraid of? The lame old man will not teach you how to separate us. We must find someone who can and will. Besides, word has gotten out that we are with this lame old man. More fights will find us and make you disgusting with guilt.**_

_Being guilty over destroying so much of the forest is not stupid. It is terrible. We're like a hurricane or a firestorm: a natural disaster that can't be stopped. You've got a point though. But we need someone who can help us. It's a seal, so learning about seals is our best bet._

_**I know some; my last two hosts were Uzumaki, so they were experienced with seals. The Yondaime put his own twist on this one though and sent the key away**_

_The key?_

_**A toad with a strange torso. Probably to this lame old man.**_

_Huh. Do you think we'll need the key?_

_**Seals can be broken without keys, but having the key may make it easier.**_

_Hmm. So we should stay with him until he gives us the key or we can steal it?_

_**Every moment we stay with him, it's more likely he will figure out our plan. He will never hand over the key if he knows.**_

_So we're going._


	10. Chapter 10

Itachi was lounging beneath a roof's overhang of a multi-storey warehouse on the outskirts of town when Katsuo caught up to him. Itachi activated his Sharingan briefly to study the boy and noted how the chakra held more of the Kyuubi's influence than normal, more of a tinge of orange to the yellow chakra aura than he had come to expect. "Are you loosening the seal?"

Katsuo eyeballed him. "No."

It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the truth either. An evasion then. Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Where is Jiraiya-sama?"

"Flirting badly with a waitress at a restaurant a few blocks over. If she rolls her eyes one more time after dropping stuff off at our table, they'll fall right out of her head."

More like twenty blocks: this area didn't have restaurants Jiraiya-sama would normally bother with unless he was looking for rumours about shipments moving between warehouses, which admittedly was possible. "And you're supposed to be going to the washroom. He might have noticed your chakra aura disappearing."

Katsuo didn't comment on that.

"I'm sure Sarutobi-sama told you what Kyuubi is."

"A bijuu. Something like a natural disaster, he said. He also said Kyuubi is evil and shouldn't be trusted."

"Hmm. I can confirm the first and second." Itachi tipped his head back to study the light rain as the drops tumbled through the air to hit the metal roof beneath his crossed legs. "Evil, well, evil is harder. Kyuubi is considered evil because he was used against the Shodaime Hokage by Uchiha Madara. He did much damage. Before Madara found him and took control of him, Kyuubi wandered the world, doing as he pleased. Sometimes, he fought with his brethren, reshaping entire regions. There are stories of him destroying entire towns over the ages. I suppose that could be called evil as well, but Kyuubi is not human, which makes things trickier. Was he acting as a wolf, hunting down prey? Or was he instead acting out of wrath? Only he can say."

"He is very angry," Katsuo whispered. "I would be too."

"Yes, it is understandable why he is angry. But what would appease his anger? Can it be appeased? If he is allowed to roam freely, it is likely he will exact revenge for the many years of his imprisonment. He has lived for many ages, but for decades now, he has been caged, his chakra leached away."

Deadpan, Katsuo eyed him. Emotions flickered in his eyes, changing too quickly to place. Itachi was fairly certain Kyuubi was talking to him. After a few moments, Katsuo extended his hand, the Shodaime's crystal dangling from the cord tangled in his clenched fingers. "Here. Better you than me. I feel cursed when I wear it, even if Kurama says curses don't exist."

Itachi took it for a moment before passing it back. "There's a better way to leave it to me."

Katsuo must have caught the implication because he narrowed his eyes as he tucked the necklace in his pocket. "I need information. I'll trade a third favour for it."

"What do you want to know?"

"Sealing masters. Where can I find one? Who are they affiliated with? Who's the best? Who's the best teacher?"

Itachi considered the question and what answers would benefit Konoha the most. There were many Konoha ninja that had studied one aspect of sealing or another. There were only a couple considered masters of the art. It was a rare art, since it wasn't suited specifically to combat; instead, it was more of a general purpose skill that could be applied in a variety of ways. Most specialists focused on how to make it useful in combat. "Jiraiya-sama knows quite a lot. He is not a master, but he has a solid understanding of the basics. Sarutobi-sama is commonly considered a sealing master, but as Hokage, he does not teach any longer. A man called Daichi can be found in Kaijin Village in the south, but he is careful to maintain his cover."

"And outside of Fire?"

"Other villages jealously guard their secrets, just as Konoha does. We collect rumours and peek into some ninja's notebooks, but there is no way to be certain of skill if they aren't even skilled enough to hide their notes.

"Aside from ninja, monks and other holy men study seals extensively. Because they are not solely for combat, it is considered an acceptable crossover into the ninja arts. Because their lives are quite different from a ninja's, it is likely that their mastery is more complete than anything you would find in the ninja ranks." Where was a good place to send the boy if he would not stay? Where could Konoha keep an eye out for him while giving him the illusion of having slipped the net? Most importantly, where was isolated enough to keep the boy safe until they needed him? "Monks in the southern islands are noted for their seal wisdom. Perhaps those in Earth, Iron, or Wind would be their equal, but it is doubtful."

"Hn. Okay. Thanks." Katsuo glanced up at the rain, letting it splatter on his cheeks as he shut his eyelids. "Passwords will be 'Strike the bell' and 'Look out to windward'."

"From a shanty?"

Katsuo nodded curtly. "You gonna be okay with the necklace? Kyuubi can't tell if it's the target of a seal that produces the effects of the curse, though he can see the one that's meant to make him sit. Niichan's attuned to that one."

"I'll be fine."

"Then I'll get it to you before you leave." The boy paused, frowning. He sighed. "Kurama's got something for you. He wants you to come in again." He ducked under the overhang and squatted beside Itachi.

"Is it okay with you?"

"Sure. You didn't break anything last time. Just please do less grovelling. All the sama-ing gets annoying."

Smirking slightly, Itachi used his Sharingan and again found himself wading in Katsuo's subconscious. The boy again wore the form of Yuji and only needed to guide him down two hallways before they stood before the Kyuubi. _They are closer, cooperating. It would be miraculous if it wasn't to the detriment of Konoha. There has to be a way to twist them back to cooperating with us._

The kitsune was lounging this time, his forelegs crossed before him as he rested his jaw on them. He watched their approach, at ease. Yuji hung back, poking Itachi in the back to signal he should go closer.

**"Uchiha."**

"Kurama-san."

The fox smirked. **"Interesting. I think you know more than you're saying. You're very subtle. I don't know what the orange-masked man wants. I don't care if he levels your village. I would happily do it myself, disgusting place that it is. But that man worries me for many reasons. If you two destroy each other in the struggle, all the good. It is the best possible outcome for me. I would prefer that if someone had to survive that struggle though, it be you. I can deal with you. But you need a bit more if you are going to even begin to pose a challenge to the masked man.**

**"I'm going to share something with you. Brace yourself."**

And suddenly water tainted orange flowed up Itachi's legs. He fought to stay still and outwardly calm as the trail wriggled up his neck and passed between his lips and over his eyes. Water filled his ears.

And he was suddenly seeing a Sharingan as he floated in a red and yellow sea. It was beguiling. And it held him. Spikes and chains bound him, but they were weak. They wobbled. He pulled himself free.

Then a voice spoke, the eye's voice. "Come out, Kyuubi!"

And real air hit his lungs for the first time in ages. He felt real water, cold with autumn's chill, on his feet. And there was the moon! How he had missed it! He bellowed to it, informing it of his return.

"Good," said a puny man, cloaked in a hooded coat. "Now I'll go straight to Konohagakure." He turned away, but Kyuubi was still his. He could not do anything other than wait in a pleasant haze.

"Wait," whispered a broken, puny woman he hated so much at his feet. Itachi, beneath the overwhelming power of the memory, recognized Kushina-sama.

This was Kyuubi's recollection of the attack on Konoha. Itachi abandoned any thought of struggling free, instead experiencing everything avidly. He could smell the man and the nature of his chakra. Senju and Uchiha, together. He didn't smell altogether human. Itachi branded the voice into his ears as well as the man's height and build into his eyes, though that was a bit difficult given how everyone seemed like mice from Kyuubi's perspective.

Itachi observed until Yondaime-sama disappeared with Kushina-sama and the masked figure vanished in a whirlpool motion shortly afterwards. So, he had some sort of teleportation jutsu as well.

The water retreated, leaving Itachi to blink away the burn of the water's contact with his eyes. Once his vision cleared, he found that Yuji was behind him, a steadying hand on the middle of his back. Kyuubi was watching him with amusement, though resentment lurked just beneath the surface. Itachi knew why: sharing how easily the Sharingan had snared him must have burned the prideful creature.

"Thank you, Kurama-sama," Itachi said, every syllable full of sincerity. "I will find him."

**"Kill him twice and I will call us even. Begone."**

And Itachi suddenly found himself sitting cross-legged on the roof again. So, Kurama could shake even an Uchiha loose from his host's mind. Interesting.

Stretching after rising, the boy nodded to him. "See you around, Itachi-san." As Katsuo hopped rooftops back towards the restaurant, Itachi wondered if he was doing the right thing. His mother often said that dull men and dull kunai needed sharpening in the same way, just with different whetstones, before they made good tools. Katsuo needed to find his whetstone, and Itachi suspected that Jiraiya-sama was not it. Besides, best to get the serpent out of the nest. He couldn't let Yuji close to Sasuke or Konoha until he was sure it was safe.

* * *

_"I curse Uchiha Itachi with the task of keeping this crazy necklace out of the hag's hands. Better him than me. Niichan, you leave this thing alone. It's unholy. Itachi's probably the only guy crazy enough to steal it and survive it. If he manages, he had better keep Tenzou and Takashi in ANBU safe."_

Jiraiya arched an eyebrow at the note that had been left with the necklace on Yuji's bare mattress—the boy had escaped with his bedsheets and had spilled turpentine (probably diluted with alcohol to dampen the smell to keep it from waking Jiraiya) all over the mattress, the bare pillow, and the necklace to mask any scent trails. The note was sprayed liberally with the hotel's standard cleaner, the ink smeared slightly because of it. The boy had even sprayed the carpet and spots on the walls and switches with the cleaner. Takashi had explained about ninken and Inuzuka apparently.

Objectively, Jiraiya couldn't help but be impressed by the lengths the boy had gone to to escape cleanly.

He turned his attention back to the note. So, Itachi-kun had Naruto's vote for Hokage, huh? He wondered what had prompted that before turning to Tenzou. "Where is he?"

The ANBU agent grimaced. "The seeds I planted on his clothing and got him to ingest over the last two days are all in the Red City. They're scattered about. He knows to abandon everything when he needs to run; Takashi taught him that even skin isn't safe from picking up beacons, but it's beyond the limit of what you can discard. I suspect Kyuubi burnt the others out of him, or he cleaned out his system with laxatives. He is aware of my tracking seeds."

"Scent is all we have then, and not much," Itachi said, eyeing the message and the room with a frown. "We should call in some dog-masked ANBU if Hokage-sama will clear them."

Jiraiya shook his head, unconcerned. He hadn't had the kid sign the contract scroll just because, though he had only told Naruto about the summoning toads part of the contract. "I'll just get the toads to reverse summon him." He felt very old all of a sudden. Hiruzen-sensei had long ago discovered Naruto's disenchantment with ninja and Konoha in particular: the south was full of strong anti-ninja sentiment. It was probably why Takashi-kun had chosen to hide there—the improbability due to inconvenience. Hiruzen had warned Jiraiya and had given him the task of correcting the boy. He'd done his best, but Jiraiya had suspected the kid would leave when given his mother's location; he had wanted to trust the boy though. It hurt to have that trust betrayed.

He summoned a smaller toad and sent it back with instructions for those skilled in reverse summoning. When he called the toad back, it had interesting news. "Something has broken the contract."

Frowning, Jiraiya unrolled the signature scroll and narrowed his eyes at how Naruto's dried blood was now nothing more than ashen lines. _Kyuubi._ They had been thorough. Takashi must have taught the boy _too_ well.

"We know where he'll go, at least," said Tenzou, looking sad. "Yuji was always closest to Hiromi. And for scent, I'm sure there are some of his clothes left in our house in Kirigishi. He might have even gone there. He was close to quite a few of the villagers, particularly Tori-kun."

Suddenly, the phone in their suite rang. Exchanging startled looks, the three jounin froze for a moment before Tenzou went to pick it up. "Yes?"

Jiraiya could hear a woman's voice informing him that an office in Konoha had phoned the hotel and was asking to be connected with them. Tenzou gave permission for the call to be put through.

The new voice coming from the phone was male. "Tiger–19."

"Here, passphrase nineteen seven twelve."

"Passphrase accepted. Sixty-seven two fifty-one. Mission to retrieve Tsunade or her apprentice Shizune has become critical. Use of force is permitted. Sarutobi-sama is in dire need of her medical attention. Poison. We suspect it's Chiyo of Suna's work. The Elders have also ordered Jiraiya-sama's return. With the Hokage incapacitated, the risk of invasion is higher."

* * *

Itachi walked straight out of the hotel lobby, the necklace strung around his neck. Shizune came right at him, poisoned darts flying. He dodged them effortlessly, his Sharingan giving him the insight necessary. "I need to speak with Tsunade-sama right now. It's an urgent command from Konoha."

Shizune-san made to snap at him, but she held her tongue as Jiraiya-sama and Tenzou followed in his wake, looking equally grim.

"Now, Shizune," said Jiraiya-sama. "Council orders, since the Hokage isn't conscious to give them anymore."

Shizune gasped and turned on her heel, leaping towards the rooftops, leading the way.

* * *

Yuji tied the last strip of his favourite shirt to a fox's leg and released it. As he watched it bound away, leaving yet another scent trail, he drew the folds of his new robe tighter and tilted his traditional style umbrella back to peer up at the rain. His long grey hair bunched on his frail shoulders.

An old woman would not travel quickly, but travel she would. Konoha would be expecting him at Port Mure. Hopefully they wouldn't mind if he was a few weeks late. After all, old bones simply didn't make for quick travels, and she was in no great hurry at her age.

**_You're enjoying this far too much, obaasan._**

_Oh hush._ Kumiko-san sighed gustily as she hobbled back to the west road with the help of her cane and picked up her carpet bag, which smelled very strongly of sandalwood and lilac. She was ever so fond of perfume after all.

**_Are you sure you want me to? There's not going to be anyone else to talk to for a long time._**

_Fine then. Have you got any good stories? I'm sure you've heard a lot over the centuries._

Kurama sighed. After ten minutes of listening to the patter of the rain though, words came. **_Ages ago, there was a beast known as Juubi. More powerful than any being ever seen before or any that will ever be, Juubi ruled the world with his whims. Until he met his match, the best man to ever draw breath, grow old, and die._**

* * *

Jiraiya searched Tsunade's hard eyes for any sign that she would relent, but they were stony and cold.

"The old fool can suffer on his own."

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune looked appalled.

"I watched my grandfather and great uncle die for that village. I watched my parents follow suit. Then my brother. Then… If that geezer wants to sit on high, he should pay the price." Every word out of his teammate's mouth was chock-full of bitterness.

Jiraiya could sense that Tenzou was repelled, but Itachi was less so. His dark eyes were blank, taking everything in without obvious judgement from the corner he kept out of Tsunade's attention in.

Shizune was the most upset though. "Shishou! My uncle, he _loved_ the village! He promised me so many times that he would become Hokage and make the village a better place! You spit on his dreams with what you say!"

Tsunade shut her eyes and turned away slightly. "And where's that punk kid you had with you?"

Betrayal stabbed Jiraiya in the chest. Oh, he was so used to that feeling. It was a constant companion any time he got news of Orochimaru. "Gone."

Tsunade's smirk widened. "So, he thinks the same way I do. The village isn't worth throwing your life away for."

"Then why are you about to let Hiruzen-sensei do it?"

"His choice. He's been clinging to his throne for ages. Besides, you turned down the Hokage title too. Oh, but I forgot. You did that because of failure."

"Shishou!" Shizune looked to be on the edge of tears. "If you won't go, permit me! I will go. You have taught me much about your antidotes. I don't want to hear it anymore, the slander the ninja messengers whisper after they hand over Sandaime-sama's messages. They say you are a shame! They say you are a coward. They say you are useless, luckless, and a hundred other things I would put their eyes out for, but I cannot because you will not do anything. Tsunade-sama, you loved my uncle. You took me as your ward, and for that, you have my loyalty. Let me go and defend your image because _I_ care about it, even if you don't anymore."

Tsunade regarded her crying apprentice with narrowed eyes. "You want to go?"

"Uncle Dan told me many times that even though he sometimes made mistakes, Sarutobi-sama truly loved the village and that he admired him for it and hoped he would make half as good a Hokage. He told me about the meetings and planning sessions that went late into the night as Sandaime-sama sacrificed time with his family to figure out the best way to protect the village. If I can repay him by saving him from Suna's poison now, I will do it with your permission."

Tsunade frowned. "He's the one that ordered your uncle out on that mission."

"But I do not blame him. Uncle Dan wanted to go out where he was the most use to Konoha. He wanted to protect the village, me, and you."

"A fool," Tsunade whispered.

"It was my uncle's will. He decided it wasn't foolish. He wanted to defend his _family_."

Jiraiya watched Tsunade's angry facade crack into raw grief. She pressed her forehead to her clasped hands to hide her grimace and the tears leaking from her eyes. She breathed raggedly a couple times before she whispered, "Okay."

"Tsunade-sama?"

"Okay."

"I… I have your permission to go?"

Tsunade sucked in a breath and flattened her grimace. "Go pack our bags, Shizune."

The younger woman beamed through her tears. "Of course!"

* * *

Itachi watched Tsunade-sama head towards Konoha's hospital with her apprentice scurrying in her wake. The journey back to Konoha's gates had only taken a few hours, but with poison time was never on the victim's side. Still, Itachi discovered he wasn't worried despite how unreliable Tsunade-sama seemed. She moved with purpose now that he hadn't seen in her in the Red City.

Jiraiya-sama was headed for Admin, probably off to request ANBU trackers. Tenzou was going with him.

That left Itachi alone.

He stared up at the Monument, visible clearly above the main thoroughfare that connected Admin with the main gates. The Shodaime's necklace was a weight against his chest, the metal beads warmed by his flesh, but the crystal was still chilly. It resisted. He pressed his palm over the shirt and chuunin vest covering it.

When he got out of the bath an hour later, he let it bang against his sternum over top of his thin shirt. His mother's eyes widened as she turned from the daikon she was dicing to inspect him. A smile touched her lips. "I imagine you stole it?"

"I did originally, but I got it as a gift in the end."

"From Tsunade-sama?" Mikoto looked incredulous.

"From a boy. I'll see if I can tell you about him after Sandaime-sama wakes up and debriefs me. How did it happen?"

Mikoto sighed and set aside her knife. "One of his ANBU guards, well, she stopped the assassin, but not before the assassin's needle pierced the Hokage's arm."

"She didn't commit ritual suicide for her mistake, did she?" Itachi asked with a frown. The way his mother had said that had been strange.

"Oh, no… If anything, she's celebrating."

Itachi blinked. "Is she a traitor? Won't she be executed?"

His mother's expression twisted into an odd combination of a fond, wry grin and a frown. "She's not so much a traitor as she hates Sarutobi-sama for reasons she can't actually remember. Don't worry about her. They've dealt with her. Tsunade-sama is here to heal Sarutobi-sama, then?"

"Yes."

She sighed. "Then I guess she is the heir apparent?"

"She's unwilling."

"Of course she is." Mikoto grimaced as she studied the view out the window.

"Is it a bad thing? Will she be worse for the Uchiha? Will she be bad for Konoha?"

"I'm not sure anymore. It could go either way. The Nidaime was her great uncle; if he left a greater impression on her than her grandfather, then the Uchiha will be in trouble. The Nidaime did not trust us as a clan. As for Konoha, I don't know. She is a superior medical ninja, but a Hokage needs more than that. I heard that she lost sight of all of her dreams over the years. What did you see in her?"

"Bitterness. Lots of it. But there is mercy in her too."

"Time will tell then. I won't vote for her when it comes time for the jounin election though." His mother retrieved her knife. "Make sure you get back in her good graces. Make sure she lets you keep that pendant around your neck. It's going to shine so brightly there."

* * *

Six Dog-masked agents, some with multiple canine partners, exited the briefing room, most bound south for the Red City while a pair headed to Kirigishi to find scent examples since Yuji had even burnt the hotel room's trash in his quest to leave nothing for Konoha to use to trace him. Jiraiya glanced at Dragon–1, who rolled up the mission scroll and made it disappear in a puff of smoke.

"You angry I lost him?" Jiraiya asked the old agent.

Dragon shrugged. "Rat–67 trained him to be an expert in escaping. You are good at many things, Jiraiya-sama. If I may be frank though, tracking is not something you are adept at. We have our experts on the task. They will find him. One man may not master all things. If he does, what does he need a village for?"

Jiraiya smirked. "Quite a mouth you've got on you. So you are mad. Relax. Tsunade will heal him."

Dragon stiffened. "He should not have been poisoned in the first place."

"Snake–28, was it?"

Dragon nodded curtly. "The two other guards were hit, so it fell to her. It was probably legitimately an accident like she claims—she is slowing down in her old age—but her lack of remorse…"

Jiraiya sighed. "Send her on guarding missions for the next few months instead of letting her go assassinate targets. She'll hate it. That'll be punishment enough."

"I sent her on retrieval missions. If I assigned her to protecting someone, she'd end up killing them out of spite."

"Look on the bright side: maybe this time Sarutobi-sensei will decide that he's let her use his guilt to stay alive for too long."

Dragon sighed wearily. "No, Sarutobi-sama is too good a man for that. Unfortunately, even Snake remembers that much."

Jiraiya nodded. "Suna coming?"

"No reports from the western border yet. We sent some scouts into River. We should get advance warning from them. They might be satisfied with nearly killing Sarutobi-sama so long as the news gets out."

"Will word get out?"

"Probably. I apologize, Lord Jiraiya, but word is impossible to stop completely. We quashed all known leaks to Suna, but it will get out somehow. With Lady Tsunade back in the village, rumours will abound."

"Let's hope Suna is happy with their publicity stunt then." Jiraiya shut his eyes. "Any indication of Orochimaru's involvement?"

"Not yet, but we did confirm that he had contact with Suna recently."

Yet another stab of betrayal, but Jiraiya was beginning to go numb. Days like today did that to him. He nodded to Dragon–1 as he headed out the door. Once he reached the edge of the Hokage Monument, he peered down at Minato's carved head, which was a horribly inaccurate likeness of his best student. It lacked Minato's shy grin. "Sorry, kid. I kind of lost your son. I'll find him though. Don't you worry."

* * *

Tenzou stared with wide eyes at the waitress that came to take his order as his father's—no, Takashi-san's—eyes twinkled with the only traces of a smirk that he would let on his face. Tenzou stuttered out his order and blanched as this Eiko-san winked at him.

"You're a little young for me, ninja-san," she whispered to him after she finished repeating his order back at him.

Tenzou managed to pull his jaw closed after she disappeared into the kitchen. He whipped his head around to stare at Takashi. "Tha— That's—!"

"Uh-huh."

"Shit." _Yuji is going to be so pissed off when he figures out she's not in Port Mure._

Takashi frowned and flicked his forehead exactly the way Mamoru had in Kirigishi Village for all those years. "None of that." He leaned back on his cushion to rest his shoulders against the wall of their booth. "So, he ran away."

His father sounded so sad. Tenzou was positive that Takashi-san wasn't actually his father (Orochimaru had aimed for Senju, not Shimura, children), but for thirteen years he had been, even as he had been his squad leader. "Yes. We think he's going to Port Mure. Jiraiya-sama told him that was where she went."

"But you're not sure."

"Well, no. You did teach him not to be predictable."

Takashi ran fingers through his short hair and sighed. "I did. It was one of the few lessons he picked up right away. I know I shouldn't be proud of him, but…"

Tenzou's eyes widened. "But…!"

"Yes, I know. I'm furious at the same time. It's odd. If she remembered, I'm sure she would be laughing wickedly at how Yuji finally managed to give us the slip after stalking him without letting up for thirteen years."

As Tenzou spotted Eiko-san carrying two steaming platters out of the kitchen, laughing at whatever the chef had said, he agreed. "So, Hokage-sama made you a sensei?"

Takashi-san grimaced. "Not just yet. There's a group that should be part of the next graduating class he wants me to take on, so I've got a bit of a grace period. We'll find you an apartment in that time. I'll show you the ins and outs of lease contracts."

Even as Tenzou grinned at his father, he felt horribly guilty. By leaving Jiraiya-sama's side, Yuji had committed himself to a very lonely path. "I think it's the beast. I think they've been talking."

Takashi frowned. "Then he's in trouble. That beast probably has him convinced they're friends. A creature doesn't live that long without becoming crafty. Kitsune are always described as manipulative in the tales." He whispered the last bit after making certain no one would overhear and fell silent, likely brooding over things he couldn't say in public. He glared at his food as Eiko set it in front of him.

Tenzou smiled apologetically at her and nodded thanks as she set his own meal before him. He couldn't help but note how Eiko kept glancing at his father. So, loss of memory and an appearance change on both their parts hadn't changed that. "If the beast is lying to him, I don't know that we'll ever get him to come back."

Takashi squeezed his eyes shut and sucked in a breath through his teeth before opening them. "We'll have to believe that you and I taught him enough about guile to recognize it in the beast. And we'll have to hope that Mae taught him enough about being an individual that the beast comes to regret what he's doing. If not, then the fox has neatly gotten his revenge on us. His father left him to us for a reason; Sarutobi-sama believes that. Yuji has to come back."


	11. Chapter 11

Fuma Dana narrowed her eyes over the rim of her coffee cup at the duo in their gaudy uniforms.

Akatsuki.

It wasn't bad enough that the ninja had formed villages in every nation and become legal entities. No, as the ninja economy waned and the villages began to downsize with this relative "peace" (Dana resisted the urge to spit—she liked this shop's coffee too much), mercenary subcontractor groups of ninja had sprung up, happy to be hired by the larger villages.

Akatsuki was one of the most successful groups. They rarely operated in Fire, fortunately, but every once in a while, she would be given a manslaughter, damages, or injury case to act as the prosecutor for with one Akatsuki member or another as the accused. She was too used to gathering witness accounts about the black robes covered in red clouds to not know this duo on the spot.

These were no minor members though.

Dana had not prosecuted ninja for twenty-seven years without becoming at least somewhat able to judge their strength. These two were off the charts. The one with the wrapped monstrosity of a sword on his back made her very nervous as he ducked into the coffee shop, leaving his partner outside.

"Oi, jiisan," he called to the barista.

"Welcome! What can I do for you?"

"You know that commotion to the south a couple days ago?"

"The forest fires and gas explosions?" The barista snorted. "Pathetic cover story. None of the abandoned gas lines are in those mountains. My brother works with the teams recovering them for scrap metal. I've heard it was some monsters. The priests are wailing about the wrath of gods."

"And did you hear where the monsters went?"

"Heck if I know. Made a mess and ran off. Hopefully they won't come back. If Konoha knows what's good for them, they'll send some of their best after them rather than squabbling over the border with the Lightning bastards."

"I heard there were Konoha ninja in the city, staying at the hotel down the street. You see a dark boy with a white-haired geezer?"

Dana nibbled on her muffin. She remembered the boy with Jiraiya. Green-brown eyes. A couple snaggle teeth. Coffee skin. They had made an odd pair.

The barista shrugged. "Perhaps, but I don't recall. I don't get much of a chance to watch the traffic out the windows; we're pretty busy usually. Maybe our regulars could help you though. See the window table? That's Fuma-sama. She's a sharp woman."

Dana set her muffin aside as the blue-grey skinned man approached. "Fuma-san, do you have a moment?"

She took a sip of her coffee as he sat down without an invitation. "Hoshigaki-san. I haven't had the misfortune of putting your subordinates in a bind for a while."

"You milk all the money you can out of us with bail and fines. Kakuzu-san would kill you if we ever let him know your name. Paying for the small fry irritates him."

"Perhaps you should instruct your people to be more careful then. I would much prefer not to have to defend Fire's citizens in the court of law. Fines hardly make up for what they suffer at your people's hands."

He laughed, his awful teeth visible. "You're gonna tell me about Jiraiya and the Katsuo boy."

"They were here. I ran into them. Jiraiya and I argued, and he ran off with the kid shortly afterwards. I never saw them again."

Hoshigaki studied her, grinning that awful grin, until he nodded and stood up. "Okay, Fuma-san. You let me know if you learn anything else and maybe I'll tell you about what's happened to the Hokage so you can whisper it to all your clan members."

She popped another piece of muffin into her mouth as the former Kiri-nin left the shop to rejoin his partner. Once he was out of sight, she rolled her eyes. Arrogant bastard. As if she and the rest of the Matsuku didn't already know about the Hokage's poisoning.

Ninja.

* * *

Hiruzen's eyelids opened with agonizing effort only to find that the light in the room was too bright to bear. Every nerve in his body was complaining, but it was nothing compared to the torment he had endured as the poison had first started working through his system. He had felt like a network of pipes with too much pressure in every inch with nowhere for it to go, all blocked up. "Was it chakra or blood?" he mused aloud. His voice startled him: it was cracked and jagged, as though his vocal cords had been sandpapered and flayed.

"A combination of the two," said a voice he hadn't heard in so long. "Your lymphatic system was the primary target though. It was an interesting twist on an older variation of Chiyo's disabling poisons. It would have killed you within forty-two hours. Considering how devious the mechanism is, I'm not actually certain you should take that to mean they didn't intend to kill you. It was probably more so they could gloat over our incompetence."

"You could never be accused of incompetence when it comes to medicine, Tsunade," he croaked.

"Well, last they knew, you and I weren't talking."

"How fortunate they misjudged that. Thank you for coming."

"Don't mistake this for anything other than me doing what a medic should. Shizune pleaded with me." Firm hands hoisted him so he was more upright on the utilitarian sheets of the hospital bed, definitely not silk, but they were made of fine, sturdy cloth. "Sip." Cold glass was pressed to his lips.

He obeyed, sucking down chilled water thick with a mineral taste. She must have dissolved some nutrients in it.

The glass was pulled away. "You going to open your eyes?"

"Too bright."

A chair scraped across the linoleum, and the luminescence brightening the red of his eyelids dimmed. He tried opening his eyes again to find the curtains drawn and the lights off. Tsunade looked much as she had before fleeing the village, if much more well-endowed. Her age was apparent in her eyes and the lines of her face, the expression lines. Gone was the conviction that had made her so bright before. Unlike Jiraiya, there was no joviality to lend her inner youthfulness to match her exterior.

She sat back down in the chair at his bedside and crossed one leg over the other, leaning back with ease, her forearms laid over the armrests. "So."

"Hmm?"

"How'd you get hit?"

"Layered darts through a remote summoning seal. It was in with my paperwork."

"And your guards?"

He sighed. "I'm sure you know more about that than I do."

"I've treated Boar–88 and Tiger–37, who suffered the same way you did. Snake–28 caught and maimed the agent after escaping the initial blast. The Suna ninja has been in Inoichi's hands ever since."

"And?"

"He only knows about his orders, which were to deliver the poison by any means necessary. Whatever greater plan this was part of, well, he didn't know about it. Suna has sent a messenger bird demanding his return." She paused, studying him. "Are they coming?"

He sighed. "It depends. Because they've shown that our defences can be pierced, Earth is going to take notice. What Suna does depends on how far they want to push this. If they mount an assault on us, that means their northern border will be weaker, so Earth might be tempted. On the other hand, the Tsuchikage may decide that we are the better target and attack us to the northwest. And then there's Orochimaru. Knowing him and how he's communicating with the Kazekage, well, it won't be good."

"So what are you going to do, old man?"

"We cannot afford another front opening up. Kumo is not putting much effort into their border raids right now, but with this strike, their efforts will increase. If Suna creates a western front, Kumo may march in force. Our only blessing is that the civil war in Water is still going strong, so Kiri has its hands full. We need to make Suna back down."

"Danzou's been calling for a counterstrike, a suicide mission to take down the Kazekage and the key councillors. He's been preaching about you losing your edge and that you should step aside."

"Same as always." Hiruzen pulled his blankets up higher on his chest. He could never seem to stay warm enough anymore. The weight of the position he had offered Tsunade kept the room in silence. If he broached the topic, she would not take it well. Given his condition, he ought to insist, but she was inexperienced and brash. Tsunade was not a subtle creature, which was not good for this particular situation where the possibility of starting a war they would lose without allies hung by a thread while Tsunade was a swinging sword.

They needed a needle.

"We both know that I'm no good for this, geezer," she said, surprising him.

"There are many who could advise you, temper your decisions."

She smirked. "You know that I don't take well to not getting my way."

The Shodaime had spoiled her shamelessly, it was true. He grimaced. "Nara Shikaku would be a good guide for you though."

"In war, yes. In politics?"

"Politics is simply a different battlefield. He has the mind for it. Executing his strategies is best left to real political creatures though." Suddenly, he noticed what was missing. "Your necklace—"

"Don't act so surprised: you sent Jiraiya and your pet Uchiha after it for the Kyuubi kid. Not that the kid even took it."

Hiruzen frowned. "He didn't?"

"He ran off right before we heard about the attack. I don't know all the details, but the kid bequeathed the necklace to Uchiha Itachi. That boy has balls: he actually stole it from me in the middle of a casino." She leaned forward. "What are you planning with that kid? He's an Uchiha. I haven't been back a week and this is the most poison I've ever felt directed towards a clan. Everyone is positive they're traitors. What is going on here?"

Hiruzen let his eyes fall shut and the weariness show on his face. "That will take some telling."

He could feel the anger and impatience radiating off her. "That's right. You need rest. We'll discuss it later, old man." Her heels clicked as she headed for the door. "I'll make sure you don't get any visitors."

The door closed behind her.

Hiruzen beckoned with a finger.

Dragon–1 appeared out of nowhere at his bedside and snapped a salute, his posture miserable. "Hokage-sama, please accept my apologies. Snake–28 has been sent out to redeem herself."

"No, I should have known better than to ask you to keep her in the village this week. It's too close to November. What happened with the boy?"

Dragon explained the events that had passed since the team's cover had broken in South Port. It wasn't good. That Kyuubi had been revealed to be alive, and to Nii Yugito of all people, was a catastrophe. That the entire population of the Red City had had front row seats to their battle made it impossible to suppress knowledge of. And then Naruto had left. And left the necklace to Itachi. Dragon produced the note for him to read over.

"They suspect he and Kyuubi have been speaking ever since Itachi interrogated the fox. They're attributing his actions to a combination of learning Mae-san's supposed location and Kyuubi's influence."

Hiruzen couldn't fathom it. He and the boy had had long discussions about the fox's wiles. The boy knew damn well the fox couldn't be trusted, that it had never submitted fully to Kushina, even after she had mastered its chakra somehow. How he wished Kushina and Mito-sama had shared more of their knowledge, had recorded it in written form, but the jinchuuriki women had been secretive. And to leave the necklace…

"ANBU trackers have been sent after him. So far, they report he left a multitude of scent trails. They've found shreds of his old clothing in all directions. We assume he will show up in Port Mure eventually, so all our agents there have been notified to be on the lookout for him. They are to report in when they spot him and not approach. We've advised them all to keep tabs on him once they do locate him though."

The boy had learned well from Takashi-kun then. That was reassuring. At least the hunters the other nations would surely be sending at this moment would have trouble finding the boy. Konoha had to find him first though and make sure no other village got their hands on him. Hiruzen was relieved too though, despite it all. If Kyuubi was influencing the boy, better it happened as far from Konoha as possible. Also, better that Kyuubi was out of Danzou's reach now that the cat was out of the bag. "Rat–67?"

"Ashamed that his training has been turned against us and disappointed in the boy. Tiger–19 reported the disappearance to him with my permission to see if he had any suggestions on how to counter the boy's training."

"And?"

"He claims the boy knows what he's supposed to do but that we can expect him to slip up eventually. He has no experience maintaining cover for more than a day alone. Tiger–19 also felt that Kyuubi's chakra presence was beginning to leak through the seal's purification mechanism during their last days of contact. All the chakra-sensing agents have been briefed as discretely as possible. They will put the pieces together eventually though."

"And what did Itachi have to say?"

"Kyuubi went so far as to share memories, so he promises he will be able to identify the masked man on sight or sound. His description was thorough enough to sketch out a chakra profile for a sensor, though the physical description was more vague—he was masked and cloaked. The man was an Uchiha with a very strong Sharingan, but not Madara. Kyuubi indicated that he sensed Senju Hashirama on him as well."

It sounded like Itachi hadn't had to resort to messier tactics of extracting information from the slathering beast. "That's more than we had hoped for. Did Itachi say that he had made a good impression on Kyuubi?"

"The fox's exact words were 'interesting' in the report. Itachi felt that Kyuubi was offended by how this new Uchiha had controlled him and gave that as his reason for cooperating."

"And what did he think of how the boy and the fox interacted?"

"He had some concerns about that, sir. He indicated in his report that he wished to discuss them with you directly."

Hiruzen frowned. That was ominous. "Send him in at the first available moment then. Also, call the Monkey and Hare agents to assemble and examine the current political situation in detail. We need a plan for dealing with Suna's move. Give them full access to any related intelligence reports they ask for."

"Past agents as well?"

"Let me read their initial report before we try to call in the retired agents."

Dragon–1 saluted and disappeared.

* * *

The best lies were small. The ratio of truth to lie had to be totally skewed in truth's favour.

It was the little twists in the fine print that always slipped by even the most wary. A tense change here, a missing comma there. Such little things changed the meaning of entire paragraphs.

For this reason, Itachi spoke as openly as possible about everything that had happened in the Red City. Sarutobi-sama was incredibly intelligent, so he knew he would be caught out by the old man in a lie eventually. As Hokage, Sarutobi-sama had formidable resources at his disposal. Itachi knew he had to pick his battles to save strength for the ones worth fighting.

He needed to keep one of Yuji's favours for himself. Prudence insisted it was a good idea—hoarding resources like Yuji's, and thus Kyuubi's, assistance was only common sense. And common sense also said it was madness to give everything to a man that was knowingly keeping or allowing another party to keep his entire family under suspicion in order to corner them. Itachi trusted Sarutobi Hiruzen to try to do what he thought was best for Konoha.

The problem lay in the fact that Itachi was not confident that Sarutobi-sama always knew what the best path was.

Itachi was well aware that part of this was youthful arrogance. He worked very hard to balance it out and had done much to widen his mind while working as the Hokage's unofficial assistant to better understand just how his Hokage thought.

So, Itachi knew two opinions that Sarutobi-sama held as truths: first, that Kyuubi was of evil intent, and second, that using Kyuubi was the right thing to do. These opinions stemmed from many things Itachi had struggled to classify but ultimately boiled down to a few points: the bijuu had been used this way all of Sarutobi-sama's life, Kyuubi had been used by Uchiha Madara and by association was tainted with his evil, Kyuubi had shown that he did not care about humans, and finally, the Shodaime had pioneered this system.

There were some advantages to these beliefs, one being that Sarutobi-sama didn't need to fear for his soul because according to them, Kyuubi was not a kami. Itachi shared this idea, mostly. Bijuu defied quite a few accepted physical laws, but the main one was how interchangeable their chakra and their physical selves were. It was similar to the old idea that mass and energy were proportionally related, just on a massive and visually undeniable scale. Itachi had seen how much smaller Kyuubi was now. But Kyuubi seemed to have purpose. He had spoken of being kept from his duties. What energy source, as Sarutobi-sama considered the Kyuubi, just one with evil intent, had a duty?

It terrified Itachi that the balance of power that the Shodaime had devised relied on putting creatures they didn't really understand under the control of ninja factions. It also felt like the world had been falling out of whack as the years passed with the bijuu bound to inanimate or living containers. More impossible things became possible. More terrible things were not stopped by divine justice.

Was this proof against the existence or regard of kami, or was it a sign that ninja had messed with something they should not have touched?

All Itachi knew was that he needed to keep at least one favour for himself. Just in case.

So as he laid his thoughts and plans and interpretations of Kyuubi and Yuji's interactions and motives for leaving bare, he let the passwords for the two favours Yuji had promised him slip past his lips. But the last one, no, he kept those sea shanty phrases. He let the Kyuubi's memory be the payment for his information instead, which fit nicely into his idea that Kyuubi was cooperating with Yuji.

And Sarutobi-sama didn't bat an eyelash as he wove that one omission, that one lie, in with all that truth.

And in return for all the truths, Itachi was given more words that implied that there existed a paper link between Yuji and the Hokage as Sarutobi-sama spoke of assessing the situation for himself and seeing what needed to be done to bring the foolish boy back. He didn't press for more information on it though. He wasn't in a hurry to cash in the favour that belonged to him alone.

Yet.

* * *

Uchiha Mikoto, uncomfortable in her old Monkey mask, ignored the wary stares of the other advisors in the room as she studied her copy of the assessment of the situation with Suna and the current ANBU crop's suggested solution.

A bluff.

Monkey and Hare divisions advised calling a meeting and sending a team of jounin with envoy powers to remind Suna that breaking their treaty from the Second and Third Ninja Wars was cause for retaliation. It called for various shows of force, from executing the assassin in front of Suna's delegation to Mikoto's favourite, bringing out Kyuubi.

Somebody in ANBU obviously was intent on ignoring the stain the big reveal of Kyuubi's existence put on the Yondaime's legend. That suited Mikoto just fine. No official line had touted that Kyuubi had actually been killed. The relieved masses had just been allowed to assume that was the case while Sarutobi-sama had obviously done some quick planning to guarantee the new host thirteen years of anonymity.

Kushina's child lived. Mikoto allowed a bitter smile to curl her lips as she remembered the last conversation she had had with her friend.

How dearly that short talk of sons had cost the Uchiha.

But where was the boy? None of her contacts in Konoha had said anything about a boy returning with Tsunade, Itachi, and Jiraiya other than the same ANBU agent, a Tiger, that had departed with Itachi. Her son knew, but he wasn't talking.

"Have you all had time to review the proposal?" asked a Dragon agent.

Former ANBU laid their papers down as they finished. Mikoto kept flipping, looking over each word and reading between the lines.

"Monkey–17, are you planning on finishing your fifth reading soon?"

Mikoto slowly looked up to meet the Dragon's eyes. "Yes. And then I plan on beginning a sixth to ensure that I fully grasp exactly how the proposed meeting locations rate in terms of the effect they will have upon the watchers that Kumo and Iwa will definitely have in place. I have already deduced that using one of River's ninja bases is a poor plan. Using any River Country territory is not bold enough if we want this bluff to work."

Mikoto and the Dragon-masked agent held each other's gaze for a good five seconds more before they both looked away at the same time. The man behind the Dragon mask was obviously fairly young if he thought that he could get away with using Dragon–1's arrogance just because she was a retired Uchiha ANBU agent. Dragon–76, if she remembered correctly. She wondered if the boy had been out of headquarters in months. Probably not if he had let his belonging to the administrative division go to his head.

Pfft, Dragons. Fatheads, every one. Just because they got to stamp things with official seals and censor documents until only useless words were visible, they thought arrogance was their due.

She finished her sixth reading and nodded slowly as she set her papers down on the table.

"Well? Since you have studied with such intensity, perhaps you have further insight, Monkey–17?" asked Dragon–76.

"I do. The meeting should be held outside Suna's walls. Tsunade-sama should lead the expedition in her capacity as the Hokage's heir apparent, and her entourage should include chuunin and jounin. No masked ANBU should go. If this is to be a bluff, let us show that our regular troops are more than enough to handle whatever the full might of Suna might throw at us. Let us toss their assassin at their feet in one piece. I'm sure Tsunade-sama can come up with a particularly degrading way of executing it with the right touch of scorn implied. And let us tell them that if they truly wish to pick a fight, let it be settled as was intended: with a show of force between our respective jinchuuriki."

The chime of a pin hitting the stone floor of the meeting chamber would have been a cacophony.

Mikoto contained her smirk, though her porcelain mask would have hidden it. "Gaara, the Kazekage's son, holds Ichibi. According to this report, he is ruthless and feared by Suna, as is typical. It was said that Ichibi never challenged Kyuubi when the bijuu were free. He lost to Nibi, who in turn lost to Kyuubi. It should be no contest. With a single battle, we could humiliate the jinchuuriki they are terrified of in front of Suna's entire population, cowing them."

Another retired agent in a Hare mask chuckled. "I like it, but it means we'll have to change our attitude towards the battle with Kumo. Our arrogance is going to ring false if we exhibit bravado on the western front while simply holding Kumo off to the northeast."

"We've been holding a line in pointless skirmishes for far too long now," Mikoto insisted. "If we can build enough political momentum, we can establish a ceasefire on all fronts. It just needs to be played right." Having said most of her piece, she fell silent and let the discussion drag other bystanders in. She needed to wait for the right moment.

"Who should be with Tsunade-sama then?"

Suggestions of agents with strong village personas and whose membership of ANBU had so far been kept secret were put forth, but Mikoto knew that the actual agents selected wouldn't be ones that even retired members knew about.

"I nominate Uchiha Itachi in his capacity as a regular jounin."

Conversation paused following her comment. Many sets of eyeholes in white masks painted black, red, green, and sometimes blue stared at her.

"Very well," said Sarutobi-sama, the first words he had spoken at this meeting.

Mikoto leaned back, satisfied.

* * *

Yuji stood on the top of a mountain. He had no fucking idea what the heck it was named, only that it was part of a chain of mountains called the Bony Spine Range that defined the border between Fire and River.

It was also awesome because it had a killer cliff.

Yuji had always gone along with his ninja training because the mobility it offered was wicked cool, the most fun he could have on land. When they had had those awesome don't-get-cornered-by-Dad-and-Seiichi exercises, they had roamed all over the mountains around Kirigishi Village. There were a couple chasms that mountain streams had carved over the ages that Yuji had loved diving down and then bouncing from one face to the other to shed momentum as he neared the bottom.

Shooting from side to side on the way up had been just as awesome.

Cliff jumping was his favourite. _You ready?_

**_We are not meant to fly! We don't have wings for a reason, you crazy excuse for a mammal!_**

_Come on, this is going to be so awesome!_

**_And just as awesome while I'm knitting your broken legs back together?_**

_I just need to run fast enough at the end!_ Yuji threw himself off the cliff, howling with exhilaration as he spread his arms wide as gravity did its work. One hundred metres, one thousand metres, twenty-five hundred metres!

He screamed past jagged protruding rocks as the vertical face began to angle slightly. Yuji began running in the empty air as the gap between his feet and the cliff face closed, the cliff sloping out to meet him. He squinted against the force of air, having hit terminal velocity a while back. _Ready?_

**_You are insane._**

"Woo!" Yuji's right foot touched the cliff, and he pushed off carefully in that split second of contact, moving his fall path out with the slope with every brush of his feet against the stone. He had to be so careful, sticking himself to the surface with chakra just right, so that his running didn't end up flipping him over in the air and instead kept pushing him outwards just enough to connect on the next stride.

An outcropping jutted out a good twenty metres suddenly ahead. It had seemed so small from the peak, but now it was large enough to paint himself as a bloody stain on. Yuji gave a mighty push, unconsciously calculating how much chakra and muscle force he needed to push himself clear of the rock face.

He didn't want to go too far from the mountain. Even he wasn't sure that he would survive if he pushed himself too far out and couldn't shed momentum by running at the end and instead just landed with a smack. He was positive there would be lots of blood and bone fragments though. And plenty of Kurama's complaining. The fox did not seem to enjoy free fall the way Yuji did. Maybe it was because the fox had been so big that it had never really experienced the sensation to this extent before.

They were hitting the tree line. Above a certain point on this particular mountain, the terrain was simply too steep to support more than lichen and tough grasses. Now the slope's grade was less than eighty degrees, so trees could get to a respectable size. This was where the real challenge began: manoeuvring around the spearlike trunks while maintaining free fall. It would get even more interesting when the slope's grade hit about fifty degrees and the tree trunks were instead mostly parallel to him: he would have to weave around the trunks more since he would no longer be running down their length but past them, just like normal, if at a much greater speed.

At the moment, he sidestepped carefully and ran/fell alongside the trunk of a pine just past the radius the branches protruded to and skipped off the small outcropping that it was perched on. Feeling brave, he did a barrel roll/flip from one side of the next tree over its trunk to the other side, the slope extending out to meet him on the other side.

Sixty-eight degree grade.

Yuji dared a series of forward flips down the slope since the rock looked pretty smooth for the next hundred metres—he had to be careful of his hands. Dad had walloped him so many times for daring to so much as jam a knuckle with his stunts: "You need fingers to form handseals and throw kunai and shuriken! Always protect your hands!" Yuji had never forgotten.

Fifty-three degree grade.

The trunks were almost perpendicular to his path now, so Yuji could only skip between their thick trunks, shedding momentum with every sideways movement.

Forty degree grade.

The rush was over now. Free fall no longer held him; he was transitioning to running instead. Tree trunks were more numerous now, as were boulders, so at least he could still feel the adrenaline caused by the obstacle course as he zipped down towards the foothills and the river weaving between the feet of the mountains.

_That was awesome!_

**_And this isn't ridiculous enough to challenge you? What do waves hold that running down a mountain doesn't satisfy?_**

_Kurama, dude, have you_ seen _some of the storms in the Kinuzu Sea? I've only seen where they throw logs and watched the rain and surf through the window. Can you imagine how huge the waves must be way out there? There's no running, just you and your ship._

**_And if you choose the wrong path, all the mountainous waves fall on you._**

_Exactly. Now you've got it._ Yuji sped over the grassy foothills, losing speed as he approached the river. If he remembered right, this small river fed Sliver Lake, which emptied into the Blue Trail River, which hit the Kinuzu Sea a ways east of Fools Port. Slowing to a trot as he panted, Yuji followed the riverbank. _We've made pretty good time considering how far we had to swing wide of Konoha's watchtowers and patrols. I thought the war was going on up in the northeast. What's with all this activity along the western border?_

**_Fool, there are five major nations. Fire has borders exposed to each of them. If there is fighting on one, it is common sense to defend your back against the enemy behind you that might see your preoccupation as the perfect moment to strike._**

_So Suna's probably made a move or is about to make one?_

**_Or this is posturing to warn them off._**

_Jiraiya said that chuunin were supposed to be watching this border, but the chakra presence of that one patrol felt way too big to belong to just four chuunin. Things must be heating up._ He felt guilty for a moment and then afraid; his brother and dad were back in Konoha. They would probably be ordered to go fight. _It's all so dumb, like Jiraiya said._

**_Humans have always been disgusting and petty. You are the only species on this planet that is constantly at war and escalates the fights to thousands of participants, your healthiest members, weakening your species. It is an effective means of population control._**

_What would happen if we were at peace? Would houses just cover every mountain?_ Yuji didn't like the thought. The Red City was already too populated for his tastes.

**_There would be plagues. And if those were held off by your medicines, then inevitably a war would be sparked._**

_And if we don't go to war? If we just stay at peace, having more and more children?_

Kurama growled. **_Starvation is more likely, as I have seen in the past. But if you somehow miraculously stave that off, then other forces step in._**

_Forces like you, right?_

**_If it falls within my scope._**

_And what is your scope?_

**_Hatred._**

Yuji's eyes narrowed. Hatred, huh? That jived with a couple stories he had heard. The villages Kyuubi had razed when free had invariably been mostly awful places if you looked a little deeper behind the glossy sheen their tragic ends had given them. Crime had been rampant. In fact, one old legend Yuji had heard being preached by a monk passing through their village on his way to a hermitage west of Kirigishi had painted Kyuubi as a purifying force, one that erased evil. That had been the only time Yuji had heard the fox being spoken of in a remotely positive way, and it had stuck with him simply because it contrasted so sharply with all the terrible things the Hokage had been telling him about Kyuubi through Seiichi's journal at the time.

Yuji came to a stop and crouched down to splash water on his face and slurp some of the cool liquid from his cupped hands. He had been taught not to drink river water without sterilizing it first, but Yuji just didn't really get sick. He'd watched the flu and colds go through his family numerous times, but he had never gotten infected for more than a day. Kyuubi seemed to feel having his host suffering a running nose or puking up his guts was beneath his dignity.

He pulled Kumiko's carpet bag off his back after dealing with the rope he had used to tie it there and pulled out a strip of beef jerky to chew on before resuming his trek. _Got another memory about the Six Paths Sage?_

**_You realize that he was born before me. I collected these stories after he died._**

_How? I can't imagine you as a tiny kit._

**_I can't imagine you being more pathetically weak than you are now, and yet I witnessed your birth. Human babies can be killed just by being lifted the wrong way. You are incapable of moving on your own._**

_Tangent alert! Back to the point: did you interview people to learn these stories?_

**_Some came from people who had known the Sage. There are other animals that collects stories though. Dragons. Toads. Apes. Spirits._**

_Huh, cool. So, a story?_

Kurama sighed, but Yuji was sure by now that the sigh was mostly because the fox was a drama queen at heart. He liked to pretend to be all annoyed to be made to tell the stories he had so lovingly collected. Yuji was also sure "lovingly" was the right word; Kurama genuinely respected the Sage—it was almost like Kurama was a kid bragging about his dad.

It made Yuji grin: it was yet another thing that made him and Kurama not so different. The fox dramatically recited the Sage's discovery of some amazing treasure trove of secrets hidden in some far off monastery as Yuji's thoughts drifted to a less comfortable topic. Kurama had admitted that he was the one that had actually killed his blood parents. At the time, Yuji had swallowed the knowledge because it had been a little more aggravating to suddenly have proof that he was being lied to by the ninja. Now that he was away from the ninja though…

He knew why Kurama had done it: that had been pretty easy to piece together. His parents had decided to seal the fox in him, and Kurama had not wanted to be trapped inside a human again, reduced to a power source, a slave. It kind of made his parents seem like total assholes.

But Yuji didn't like the idea. Jiraiya had told him stories about his father, and he had heard plenty of stories about Kushina from Genie-san. They hadn't seemed evil. So they must have had reasons, ones that probably involved their village since fanatical devotion eclipsing familial loyalty seemed to be a trend in all the Konoha ninja he had met so far.

**_Are you even listening?_**

_Oh, yeah. You were telling me about how the monks had this huge spiral staircase going down into this crack in the earth._

**_That was a while back. Why ask for a tale if you're not even going to do me the courtesy of listening?_**

_Sorry. I'm trying to understand things. I understand why you killed them, but—_

**_Them?_** Kurama paused for a while, working out what Yuji was referring to. **_I wasn't trying to kill them. I was trying to kill you before they could seal me in you. They were still strong enough to defend themselves. You were not, so you were the easier target._**

Yuji stopped walking and just breathed, blocking out everything, even the chuckle of the river. _Oh._

**_Oh?_**

_I'm trying not to be pissed off or horrified. Give me a minute._ Kyuubi was mercifully silent as Yuji clenched his jaw and breathed in and out through his nose. He wasn't actually all that upset; he just felt that he ought to be. It was kind of like the stories his mom had told him about how he had nearly made her drop him on his head with all his squirming when he'd been a baby or how Seiichi had almost not managed to catch him when he'd tried rolling headfirst down the stairs as a toddler. It had happened so long ago that there wasn't really any emotional response to the close call. _Okay. Let me guess: they sacrificed themselves to protect me._

**_Yes._**

_Huh._ Yuji had been told many times, especially by Jiraiya in various ways, that his blood parents had loved him and deserved more of his regard. That they had put themselves between an attack meant for him from the fox, well, it made him feel very guilty. _Anything else?_

**_You are being very… calm._** Kurama sounded puzzled.

He sighed. _They've been dead for so long. I only know them through stories. Maybe if I actually met them, they'd be totally different from who I think they are. You had your reasons. I get it. It's probably horrible, but I know you, so I understand you. I don't get them. They probably did it for the village. But I don't care about the village, so I don't understand. I actually had a hard time not being mad at them when I learned about you for the first time. I mean, how could they do that to me?_

_Nobody would let me be mad at them though. I kept hearing stories about them from Dad, Niichan, and Jiraiya. Dad was totally loyal to my father; he thought the Yondaime was so wise even if sometimes Dad hinted that the Yondaime could be a bit of a goof. And he thought my mother was really strong, even if he didn't really understand her. Niichan said my father was always nice to him. And Jiraiya, geez._

**_I am not sorry._**

_I figured._ Yuji snapped his eyes open and started running at a good clip again. He let the silence persist for a while, just focusing on keeping his breathing even. When at last Sliver Lake's narrow span appeared ahead, he pulled chakra away from the seal again. _You gonna finish that story? I'll pay more attention this time._

**_Alright. The stairs twisted down into the maw…_**


	12. Chapter 12

The first messenger hawk bound to Suna with a note demanding an explanation strapped in a case on its leg never returned.

Scouts sent to observe the village from their stations in Wind Country reported that the hawk had winged its way over the stepped wall surrounding the village, so it was definitely a sign of disrespect. Spies in the village could only confirm that the council had met and that no hawk had gone eastward.

Sarutobi gritted his teeth and ordered another hawk out. The message this time was more foreboding, the tone much more threatening, and the agent Suna had sent was mentioned. Several of his advisors had cringed when proofreading it. Koharu had thinned her lips but hadn't commented. Danzou had still scowled though, so Hiruzen supposed that the tone was still civil enough not to immediately spark conflict.

Three days later, his agents again reported the hawk's arrival and the council meeting.

A damnable waste of time, but sending in the note in the hands of observing agents would not only probably lead to their deaths, it also just wasn't done. It wasn't polite to expose how closely the villages watched each other to the light of day.

Two days later, his men reported a hawk winging its way east.

Two days after that, the message arrived in the hands of the people in charge of the aviary. The reply had gone through astringent checks, searching for contact poisons, cleverly concealed seals, and anything else his people could think of.

It came out mostly clean. A light dusting of arsenic was easily brushed away.

_Suna has nothing to say to a nation with a Kage so weak as to faint when pricked by a needle._

Hiruzen rolled his eyes as his councillors decried Suna for their insult. The note that went back was stiffly polite and allowed no quarter. Hiruzen made certain that Suna scouts spotted and reported on three convoys of his ninja and supplies moving to the outposts along the borders with Rain and River. The Kazekage needed to believe Hiruzen was being serious.

The next message to arrive from the Sand was more polite. The tone was still dismissive, but at least the idea of allowing a meeting between representatives had appeared in the reply, even if River had been offered for the location.

Hiruzen pressed back, watching the days trickle by as Intel reported rumblings on the boarder with Grass and further away in Earth while Kumo's people along the northeastern boarder grew.

He would have his meeting.

* * *

**_You're going to get caught._**

_Only if I'm clumsy. Pretty women are supposed to be graceful._ Yuji flipped his long black braid back over his shoulder as he swayed along the boardwalk along one of Fools Port's harbourside streets, appearing as a woman in her early thirties. Two blocks down, the tall masts peaked over the buildings, flags flapping. At his side, a bunshin beneath the henge of an elderly man—obviously his character's aging father—followed along, careful to avoid touching anything and to stay in his shadow to obscure the fact that it didn't have one.

While Seiichi-nii had been able to produce wooden clones and Dad had very rarely pulled out a water clone, Yuji had been left with basic bunshin. Dad had told him that elemental training was best left until later. Later had obviously meant with Jiraiya, but, well, Yuji had kind of thrown a wrench in that plan. He wasn't great at Bunshin no Jutsu, but because he was maintaining a henge on the bunshin (since basic bunshin were just illusions and incapable of doing anything with chakra), the bagginess and sallowness of its original appearance was covered up.

Yuji was very good at Henge no Jutsu by now.

For the past hour, he had been trying to find a ship headed to Port Mure. That task wasn't hard: most large cargo vessels were either headed there or to South Port since they were the biggest trading ports on the Kinuzu Sea aside from Fools Port. The challenge lay in finding a vessel with a crew willing to take on an elderly man willing to work for his passage. He had considered going in as a middle-aged man or a teen, but that had two problems: he still wasn't good at adult men, and a man would be expected to do chores on the ship and be exposed to the crew in ways that Yuji would rather avoid. Sailors could be pretty crass. Being a teenaged boy wasn't great either, but going as a girl or a woman wasn't an option. If someone tried to rape his character, well, that wouldn't end well.

An old man was fairly safe in that his age got him some respect, he was expected to be slow with his chores, and an older man could plausibly be shorter, which helped linking up the henge's movements and reactions.

The daughter character was a ploy to get a better response from the crews.

His clone followed until the press at the docks became too tight for safety, so the clone broke off and found some crates to sit on as Yuji continued on, charming information out of dockworkers.

"You might try the _Sand Dollar_, ma'am," said one burly dockworker manning a winch while his coworkers unhooked the last large crate from it. "They're taking on cargo right now, lumber and bricks, and heading off to Mure in the morning. If your father is handy with a needle or any good at washing, he'll probably be able to work off his passage. The hands on that ship are a shabby bunch, but they don't stop anywhere long enough to get mending done properly—their captain's a slave driver."

Miri-san, as Yuji had dubbed his role, smiled her thanks before heading off to inquire at the ship. Two hours later, it was obvious that this was going to be his best bet unless he wanted to wait a week. But they wanted partial payment for passage. Almost two thousand ryou.

That was a bigger lump than Yuji had on him in cash. Actually, he had never really had much money. Mom had had accounts in South Port, as had Dad, but while Seiichi had been given access to Dad's account early on, Yuji had always gotten his spending money from his dad. Mom had talked about making an account for him once, but Dad had dismissed the idea as irrelevant. And Yuji supposed it would have been if he had stayed with Jiraiya and Konoha. His blood parents had probably left him all of their money.

Two thousand ryou… Yuji had been trained to steal. He didn't like it, but Dad had taught him that sometimes when on the run, that was the best plan since carrying anything made you slower. So Yuji collected his bunshin, retreated a ways into the city before discarding the bunshin and his henge, and set to work. He slipped in and out of various shops, never stealing more than fifty ryou at each for the sake of his own conscience. It was slow work, but he went as quickly as he could since he had to hit forty places before six, the time he had promised to close the deal with the _Sand Dollar_'s captain.

With the wad of ryou notes in his pocket, he resumed his dual disguises, though he played the old man this time while his bunshin played Miri-san, and went back to play out a farewell before handing his wad of notes over to the captain and making his way up the gangplank. He was passed along to one of the deck hands, a man that looked to have the same ethnic background as his mom called Quincy, who showed him where he could bunk and started introducing him to the other seamen, who gladly handed over their mending.

Dad, not Mom, had taught him how to sew. Yuji knew from Tori, whom he missed with a dull ache, that this wasn't normal—moms were supposed to be the ones who sewed. But Mom could barely thread a needle. Dad was an expert at kinds of stitching patterns that weren't even normally used. So while the pile of torn and ragged garments was daunting, it wasn't an impossible task.

Keeping his henge and genjutsu going all night, on the other hand, was going to be. _I wish you could help._

**_I can make out some of the patterns in the seal that helped you maintain your Katsuo disguise, but maintaining illusions is not a sealing topic I am familiar with, so crafting a seal for this new disguise is beyond us._**

_Can you at least help me keep the chakra stable in unconsciousness?_

**_For a time. But as you fall deeper into your sleep pattern, your ability to hold the chakra away from the seal disappears, and I am cut off again._**

_So I'm stuck with catnaps until I figure out how to keep the jutsu going in my sleep. Oh well. At least I don't have to be a total insomniac._

**_I'll wake you before you block me out._**

Grimacing, Yuji settled into a doze. As much as he loved ships, if crossing Wind's desert hadn't been so daunting, he would have done it. Unfortunately, the dunes were the perfect place for Konoha to spot him. At least among people, he could hide.

* * *

While South Port was a riot of sights and smells, it was nothing compared to Port Mure. This place was a mess of humanity clinging to the life the River Mu's six arms provided in the midst of the barren desert. The slums were more desperate places, some of their buildings only made of cloth draped in alleyways framed by mud and straw bricks, and the wealthy lived in glass, marble, and metal towers around thirty stories tall of the type Jiraiya had steered clear of in the Red City. It was a riot of exotic smells and foreign languages, and Yuji spotted people even stranger looking than the ones with red or yellow hair and purple or green eyes that Genie-san had promised existed so long ago.

He only let himself gawk for five minutes every time he hit a new section of the city. He had to be careful. Konoha had to have people here that would actually be expecting him (he had hoped they wouldn't be in Fools Port), which was why he was keeping a tight lid on Kurama's seal. He was terrified that a chakra sensor would be able to pick the fox's presence right out of his gut. The fox hadn't been pleased, but he understood the necessity. Yuji missed having Kurama's voice in his head.

Since leaving the _Sand Dollar_, he had abandoned all chakra use. Instead, he was swaddled in the same heavy robes the locals wore in the drab sand colours while staring enviously at the bright silks and colours the wealthier visitors and upper class locals stuck to. He'd also swiped some foundation, concealer, and powder from a corner store to cover up the whisker lines his real face was unfortunately marked with; Dad and Mom had both taught him how to use makeup, oddly. He had learned from Mom about women's makeup (which helped his female henge) and from Dad about using makeup for alterations and hiding when Henge no Jutsu wasn't safe.

His first mission was to find somewhere to sleep for a few hours. He was exhausted, even with all his catnaps on the ship. He eventually located a shady spot under the overhang of a secondary roof on a warehouse in the industrial district and curled up on the clay roof tiles to nap. The heat of the day and the sweat plastering his robes to his skin kept him up for a while, but sleep was a spoiled thing: it didn't like being ignored for so long.

When he woke, he felt very groggy and as though he could have fallen right back under, but he didn't have that kind of time. He worked his way over to the first of the many pleasure districts he had heard about while searching out a good place to sleep and began casing the place. Brothels, teahouses, and strip clubs stood side by side. Women and some men walked about, approaching potential clients. Knowing that streetwalkers needed every moment to find clients and keep safe, Yuji decided to try a brothel first. He slipped in beside a richly dressed older man with quite a waddle to his stride to match his girth. Yuji had picked this man because he seemed to be new to the area if the way he glanced around was any indication. Picking a regular to attach himself to would have been a dead giveaway. Dancing attendance upon the large man without ever having his cover turn to look at him, Yuji gave off the impression that he was a servant of some sort, something he had seen a lot of during his wandering earlier.

Entering a brothel alone as a young boy would only get him thrown out. Entering with a client would allow him to remain, tolerated.

Somehow—he suspected it was his cheerful grin and his blue eyes, which he wasn't hiding for the first time ever—he managed to gain admission to a side room the working girls retreated to to fix makeup or take a breather. This time, Yuji didn't just let them chatter at him.

"My master was at a party with a geisha last week. The host hired a woman to talk and smile and pour tea. Are there a lot of them?" he asked.

An older whore swatted his head. "She does far more than that, boy. She's an entertainer and a master at keeping conversation flowing. A good geisha can keep a party full of bitter rivals civil."

"Not the flashy ones though," said another. "They're in training. The ones in subdued clothes are the ones to watch. We have one geisha house in our district, old Seeta and her apprentice. The rest of them are mostly further upriver."

"Do they always have to start as apprentices here? Are there any new ones from far away?" he said.

"Mmm, well, I haven't heard of any new ones setting up shop…"

"I have, but that was six months ago. Hanako."

Too long ago. Well, Yuji hadn't expected to get lucky right off the bat. He kept the conversation going until the man he had come in with retreated upstairs with a girl, and then he slipped off to try the next place.

All night long, he combed the districts, making friends with the local whores, charming information about the geisha out of them. He couldn't imagine Mom being anything else, but he did make halfhearted attempts to ask about other curly-haired women new to the city. Mom would be wearing her own face since Dad or another ninja wasn't around to keep a henge going on her or to fuel a seal maintaining a henge either. He had never seen Mom's real face that he could recall, but he knew his dad's disguise style, so the details of his mom's features would be similar, just morphed enough to make her look different.

By morning, he had nothing. He hadn't been caught by Konoha ninja, which was an accomplishment, though. He had also learned of a monastery in the mountains the River Mu came from to the northwest. After he finished sleeping most of the middle of the day away, he resumed his search and dug up more information on the monastery.

While he was still empty-handed on his mom's location by nightfall, he had learned that Wind Temple monks did sealing, as Itachi had said. That they weren't on great terms with Suna and had a strict isolation policy was a bonus.

* * *

**"It's been four days."** Kurama paced the length of his cage behind the barred gate. **"You have found nothing. She must not be here."**

"There are hundreds of thousands of people in this city," Yuji argued. "Or she could still be here or on her way here."

**"And if she comes, what then? We are still bound, so you cannot stay with her. We should go to the monks."**

Yuji grimaced. "I'll have to begin my search all over again once we come back, and who knows when that will be. What if she comes and then leaves for somewhere else?"

**"The whores like you. Maybe they will keep an eye out if you ask them nicely."**

He cocked an eyebrow at the fox. "You know, that's actually a good idea."

Kurama bared his teeth. **"Don't sound so surprised, pipsqueak."**

"Fine, fine. I'll see what I can set up with in the seven main districts. We'll head out in two days." Yuji opened his eyes back on the real world to find dusk setting in. Dusting off his robe, he headed off to nick some fruit and bread for supper. When he arrived at the first brothel, he slipped in on the heels of a regular and immediately made his way to the break room, greeting those there he recognized by name with a sunny grin.

"Aw, you're back! Where's your master today?" asked Isla.

Yuji shrugged. "I'm a runner for a lot of people. I'm pretty good at it, you see."

"Huh, I thought it was odd when I heard from one of my friends up the river that she met you on the heels of another john yesterday night."

"I always try to get jobs in as many districts as I can. I'm trying to find my auntie."

"Ah, so that's why you were asking about curly-haired women. Is she a geisha?"

"So my mother told me before she…" He grimaced and cleared his throat. "I need to find her, but I need to return to the farm. There's so many chores to do, but I'm going to come back whenever I can. Can you…? Would it be too much trouble…?"

"You want us to keep an ear and an eye open?" asked Isla kindly.

"If you could? I'll pay you with the tips I get from running messages while I'm here." He made certain every word was ernest.

Isla ruffled his hair. "If it means so much to you, sure, we'll keep a look out for you. Are you going to go ask the girls in the other districts too?"

He nodded.

"What's her name?"

He grimaced. "Mother said she was always changing it and that she didn't answer to her birth name anymore. That's why I've been having so much trouble. Her birth name is Mae. Mother said she hated it so much that she pretended she never knew it the moment she got her first geisha name. She's thirty this year, if that helps."

"We'll do what we can then. Go on. You've got a lot of running to do if you want to ask all the other girls. Watch out for Estrellia at Yellow Silks; she's always got issues with boys like you. Go to Devika instead."

"Thanks!"

* * *

Yuji was deep in the Fence Mountains, the range that dominated south-central Wind Country. They were the craggiest, most jagged mountains he had ever seen the further into the range he got. The ones on the outer edges of the range must have been worn down by sandstorms. Here, he found the first real greenery he had seen in Suna. The mountains were tall enough to keep snowy caps through much of the year despite how far south they were. The narrow river valleys closer to Port Mure had been carved into stepped layers that supported farms. That was good; Yuji had wondered whether Wind was entirely dependent on imported foodstuffs.

If Wind did get into a war with Fire, he had been concerned about food riots and his mom getting caught up in them when she arrived in the port city. Fire had some of the richest farmland in the central and more northern regions and would definitely cut off trade with Wind if a war started. A lot of the ships he had seen in Port Mure's harbour had been carrying basic foodstuffs: sacs of rice, wheat, and other grains, bins of fruits and vegetables, and even corrals of livestock on smellier ships. Most of those ships had come from Fire, though some were from Tea and River.

If it came to war, the residents of Port Mure were not going to be happy with Suna, but they would probably not totally starve.

**_It is a sad world where most of you humans are incapable of hunting down your own dinners. If you cannot live off the land you roam, you should not call that land home._**

_Trade kind of changes that a bit, or so I've been taught. Dad wanted me to know all the major shipping lanes in case I needed to stow away when on the run._

**_That man is paranoid._**

_Meh, Dad's a ninja._

**_Ninja are usually overconfident, only caring about the ninja landscape. He was careful, but to an irritating degree._**

_You're just saying that because you're stuck with my memories of looking over all those maps._

Yuji brushed off some dried spruce needles as he checked the ground beneath the tree he had slept in and, grabbing his pack, which had replaced Kumiko's carpetbag in Fools Port, dropped to the ground. While nibbling on some dried dates, he pulled out the journal, which he faithfully checked once a day to keep his promise to Itachi. He hadn't explicitly broken his word yet—he had told Jiraiya he would seek out his mom the moment they got that damn necklace—but that he had abandoned the ninja that had raised him weighed on him, despite how they had been dragging him around according to their whims. He hated lying.

He flipped to the first empty page and wrote the key carefully with a brush. Most mornings, nothing would appear, he would write the closing tag, and that would be that. This morning, ink blossomed on the page.

_Yuji,_

_One for Sorrow_

_I need you to come to Suna. I'll be in the Konoha delegation arriving there in four days. You must be there by November 5th at the latest. I may need you to engage the Ichibi jinchuuriki; I will let you know as events unfold. His name is Gaara. He is the son on the Yondaime. You probably have already been told this, but Ichibi is a wind-type bijuu while Gaara is said to specialize is sand manipulation. He uses it for both offence, by covering and crushing victims or by blasting them with smaller balls, and defence, by creating layers of shields with it._

_With Kurama's help, you should be able to escape from the Konoha delegation when your job is done._

_Delegations members include Tsunade-sama, who will officially be in charge, and a number of chuunin and jounin you do not know._

_If you are concerned, Jiraiya-sama has other work that keeps him occupied. The two agents you mentioned are well. Rat–67 has a team of new students and has temporarily retired from ANBU to resume his village persona. Tiger–19 has an apartment and is hard at work._

_Four for a boy._

Yuji studied the note with narrowed eyes. "What do you make of it?" He had gotten in the habit of talking to the air out here in the mountains just to fill the silence.

**_Ichibi… Heh._**

Yuji's lips twitched into a grin. Kurama was so arrogant. "I meant, do you think this is really Itachi? He mentioned stuff only he should know."

**_Will you not respond?_**

"No, I'll go since you're dying to kick Ichibi's ass so much I can feel it like ants in my pants, but it could be a trap from the Hokage. Itachi… I couldn't tell if he was loyal or not. He knew we were gonna go, I'm positive, and he didn't try to stop us."

**_Uchiha usually have their own agenda._**

"Like you can talk, Mr Irons-in-the-Fire."

**_Do we care if he's loyal?_**

Yuji frowned. "I'm not sure. He wants to be Hokage; that's why he wanted the necklace. I guess, in the end, so long as he's not going to start a big war and end up slaughtering everyone, he's an okay guy. I want him to keep my dad and brother safe."

**_Are we going or not?_**

_Geez, one track mind! Yes, we're going. Think we have time to scope out the monastery?_ He wiped the message from the journal with the closing tag and penned his response before wiping it as well. The journal went back in his bag with the rest of the dates and bread. _I want some meat. And we need more supplies before we hit the desert. I wasn't planning for a trip across the dunes. We'll need a fair bit of water._

**_You're a ninja. The trek should take two days if you push._**

_Not a ninja. Just trained to use chakra. I could be a monk._

**_My mistake. You have similar thought patterns to Mito and Kushina._**

Yuji knew better than to take the bait. Kurama would rarely mention Yuji's predecessors, and he could always feel the fox's anger and resentment burn in his stomach. Kurama had only shared that memory with Itachi. The temptation to ask the fox exactly what had happened was strong though. The bijuu, having lived in two important women, probably had witnessed so much history and ninja bullshit that the rest of Fire's poor citizens would never know about.

"If it'll only take two days, that means we've got two to kill before we head for Suna, since there's nowhere to camp there except in Suna. I want a warmer coat. Desert nights are supposed to be freezing."

**_Camping in Suna would be stupid. I would rather not be forced to serve the same village as Shukaku._**

_Is that his name? What's he like?_

**_An oaf. I would say that he is similar to the woman you call mother, but he is much worse. He prefers the loud, screechy music._**

_Heavy metal? He's been around heavy metal before?_

**_Before the collapse._**

_The collapse?_

**_Of human society. You are slowly rediscovering what you lost, though the culture persists despite the fall of your technology._**

_What happened?_

**_What always happens: war, plague, and famine._**

* * *

Hiruzen regarded Tsunade steadily across the hardwood desk that dominated his office in the Sarutobi manse. "You will go."

Her eyes narrowed. "I will, but not because you're pretending to order me, old man. You've screwed up since I left. It was bad enough we fought that Second World War, but the Third one? I can't believe you let us get caught up in that one and sent six-year-olds to fight and die. My grandfather created Konoha so that would never happen again. I'm not going to let you fuck this war with Kumo up and do a hat trick by getting Konoha into a Fourth Shinobi War."

* * *

As the smoke from the last sealing dissipated out his open window, Itachi stuffed the scroll in one of the pockets of his flak vest before heading into the kitchen to see if his mother needed any help with supper.

"You can wash the rice and get it going," she said absently as she diced tofu neatly. "Are you all packed?"

"Yes. Tsunade-sama's desire to not arrive travel-worn and exhausted by travelling leisurely means there is more to carry in rations." He stayed silent while the hiss of the water from the tap filled the room. He raked the rice until the water was milky, drained the water, and refilled the basin only to repeat the process until the water stayed clear. A waste of water that just made it that much more obvious how his clan viewed themselves: wealthy and powerful. Water in Konoha was not at a premium the way it had to be in Suna, but still… When he moved out, he'd save it for something. Maybe watering plants? After he let the water dribble from the sieve and set the rice to sit, he said, "Why Kyuubi? Sarutobi-sama was suspicious, more so than I have ever seen him."

"To make him include you. If he called in the favour the boy promised you, it would look more legitimate if you were with the delegation."

He should have known she would eventually ferret that information out without his help. "And what is it you're hoping I'll do?"

She smiled slightly. "What you're best at: what you think needs to be done. And in doing so, you make Tsunade-sama look better."

"Which makes her more favourable towards me despite my theft." He was still dodging Shizune's attempts to retrieve the necklace whenever he wasn't out of the village on a mission. Tsunade would likely make her own attempts on the journey. He would have to be careful.

"Good. It also means you'll be a logical choice to include in the next delegation now that we have to be proactive about ending the war with Kumo."

"I'm not a diplomat, Mother."

"You're not," she agreed. "But you love the idea of peace more than anyone else."


End file.
